Forever Changed
by willowaus
Summary: It was a once in a lifetime whirlwind romance and neither ever recovered from the eventual heartbreak. Can a chance meeting help right past wrongs and allow for second chances? A Klaroline Parent Trap AU/AH
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone. Welcome to my first AU/AH multichapter fic. I'm a bit nervous about doing an all human storyline but also think it'll be a fun challenge to work with. Big thanks to Miranda for betaing this and talking me through everything. I hope you enjoy!**

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><p><em>A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.-<em>_**Mignon McLaughlin**_

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><p><strong>June 2004<strong>

Hospitals were not a place Caroline Forbes had wanted to step foot inside of again for a very long time. The smell of the place, the hopeful yet depressive atmosphere got under her skin and she had tried so hard to scrub it clean after her last time in the Mystic Falls hospital but she was convinced she had never quite gotten the essence of it off of her. Maybe she never would. Maybe it was supposed to remain there, a reminder of why she had spent most of the December of her senior year at her mother's bedside watching as the doctors had been unable to do anything but ease her pain before she died.

But Bonnie _wasn't_ dying. _Thank god_. Even if she had definitely seemed like she was going to with the amount of pain she had been in the other day when the ambulance had rushed her here.

Appendicitis.

One operation and appendix removed later and Grams had said she was recovering normally. Caroline didn't _have_ to go see her, Bonnie would be released in the next day or so and back home to rest, but Caroline wasn't about to let her distaste for the hospital keep her from seeing her best friend.

It was good to conquer fears, right? Plus balloons and a teddy bear were better to be received in the hospital than at home. It just didn't have the same pizzazz.

"Hey!" Caroline greeted, all bright smiles as she popped her head into the room, holding tightly onto the balloon strings and teddy bear. These things were not allowed to float off on her watch. She had specifically picked Bonnie's favorite colors and they needed to decorate Bonnie's hotel room for the next few days.

"You didn't have to come, Care," Bonnie protested meekly from where she lay on the hospital bed. "You just missed Grams but you'll see her later anyway."

"I saw her on my way in and _of course_ I needed to come. What kind of best friend doesn't bring balloons and teddy bears to the hospital?" Caroline tied the balloons off on one of the poles and placed the bear down besides Bonnie. "His name is Mr. Snuggles."

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to name him," Bonnie grinned, shaking her head at the small purple bear.

"When have I ever let you name any of the bears I get you? Tried that when we were four. You called him George." Caroline sat down on the chair, sighing dramatically at the memory.

"It's a good name," Bonnie protested before laughing. She cringed at the pain that erupted in her side at that before smiling weakly at Caroline's concern.

"How's the Jell-O? Did you get the green kind yet? Mom…she hated that one. The red and orange were her favorite." Caroline moved her purse around, not quite sure what to do with it as she talked, desperately needing the distraction.

"I remember," Bonnie reached over to her, squeezing her hand. "Thanks for coming."

"I don't wear this charm bracelet for nothing," Caroline held it up, showing off the dangling half of a heart that had the word best inscribed on it. Bonnie had a matching one with friend, though it was back home since they had needed to remove it for the surgery. "Did you get a cute doctor?"

Bonnie shook her head. "She's okay I guess. Not really my taste."

Caroline laughed at that before seeming to relax a little. "I talked to the doctor though. Apparently I can't fly for like two weeks," Bonnie told her, hating that bit of news.

"It's okay. We'll just do something around here for our summer. Maybe we can go to DC for a weekend trip when you're better." It wasn't quite as magnificent as a cruise on the Mediterranean, but that was okay, they would make do.

"Caroline, you're going on the cruise," Bonnie told her and Caroline shook her head. "Your dad paid a _fortune _for it. At least one of us has to still go."

"He's just trying to buy my forgiveness for not having been there when mom died," Caroline muttered, still not quite over the fact that he hadn't been there even though a canceled flight and being snowed in Chicago had been a decent reason. At least Stephen had been able to make it.

"And you've been talking about it non-stop for months," Bonnie reminded, looking pointedly at her when Caroline simply shrugged. "You've been talking about Europe since we were like nine. It's your graduation gift. You're going."

"But what about you?" Caroline didn't like the idea of going off to have fun while leaving a recovering Bonnie behind.

"I will live vicariously through all of your MySpace updates about what you're doing and seeing. I'm not taking no for an answer on this and Grams is already on my side. We're bringing you to the airport in three days whether or not you're packed so you'll probably want to be packed," Bonnie told her, thankful that her grandmother was in on the conspiracy. No one could say no to Sheila Bennett. Not even Caroline Forbes.

"When did you get so bossy?" Caroline pouted, slumping back against the chair. "We had so many plans. Plans for _two_. Seeing Pompeii is so not going to be as great without you."

"You could always take Elena," Bonnie told her and Caroline tried her hardest _not _to make a face at that. She liked Elena Gilbert, they were friends, but the idea of spending nearly three weeks traveling with her when it was supposed to be her and Bonnie's trip simply didn't sit well with her.

"And pull her away from another summer of trying to choose which Salvatore brother?" She pressed a hand to her chest, tsking at Bonnie. "I am not that heartless."

"Don't tell me you're still jealous that Stefan never gave you a chance," Bonnie chided, trying not to burst into giggles at the annoyed look she received from Caroline.

"I stopped pining for Stefan after the whole Secret Santa fiasco of junior year," Caroline rolled her eyes, already remembering that ridiculous gift exchange.

"Oh yes. The Mystic Falls snow globe," Bonnie pressed her lips together, remembering how quickly that thing had gotten lost.

"I deserve better than last minute gas station gifts," Caroline muttered, shaking her head at the idea of it. Was it too much to want someone who actually valued her?

"Like an amazing twenty day cruise trips to the Mediterranean?" Bonnie pointed out and Caroline pursed her lips at that. "That you're going to have fun on. You never know, maybe you'll meet Mr. Right there."

"Or at least Mr. Right Now," Caroline grinned, and scooted the chair closer to the bed, curling up on it so she could rest her head on it. "But fine, I guess I'll still go."

"Like you had a choice," Bonnie replied as she picked up the remote and turned on the TV for them. "George II and I would have pestered you until you left."

"His name is Mr. Snuggles!" Caroline protested, laughing and unable to help smiling as Bonnie quietly giggled too. Her friend was right. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and while it wasn't quite going to plan she couldn't simply throw it away. She would have plenty of time to spend with Bonnie once she got back anyway.

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><p>Klaus had known that when he graduated from law school that he would be swept right into the family firm. It had been pretty much set since he was born that it would happen. Every Mikaelson son before him had done it and while Kol was supposed to follow suit as well, Klaus had a feeling that was a very lofty dream. It was still a surprise that his brother had managed to snag an undergrad degree and he didn't seem interested at all in getting anything higher than that.<p>

Not that Klaus didn't love what he did. Ripping apart the opposition was something that he couldn't seem to get enough of. There was a reason he was nicknamed The Wolf in most lawyer circles, something about once he got his teeth into something he wasn't going to let go until he had uncovered every dark secret to help the firm's clients get the results they wanted to see.

It was grueling though, the hours were long, and seeing the seedy underbelly of people had slowly sapped out the boy he had once been. Or so his sister was always so fond of telling him whenever she saw him.

"You got us on an _old person _cruise?" Kol ranted as they were led toward the check-in counter on board.

Klaus glanced around, taking note of the other passengers who were also doing so. They did seem to be on the older end of the cruise going spectrum. "Elijah is the one who booked this," Klaus reminded. No doubt he had thought that by doing so would help keep Kol from ruining the family name _too _much while still giving into his whims.

"This is my last hoorah before you all ship me off to become the next Mikaelson drone and I'm surrounded by grey hairs and dentures instead of bikinis and tube tops," Kol groaned as Klaus handed over their information and their bags were taken away to be delivered to their room.

"Feel free to whine to Elijah and let him know how you feel about it," Klaus replied, not wanting to deal with the sulking.

"Maybe I can find a single old lady to become my sugar momma. Did you know that's a thing? I saw it on the telly. I think I could fit quite well into that lifestyle," Kol continued, and Klaus shook his head. Usually Kol's antics could bring a bit of a smile out from him but after the flight and traffic with Kol's constant prattling, Klaus wanted nothing more than to let his brother head off for whatever debauchery he would be getting himself into so that he could enjoy a bottle of scotch in quiet.

"Or one of the crew," Kol told him, his gaze drifting over to a redhead who was carrying towels. He winked at her, enjoying the way she blushed. "Maybe a few of them." Perhaps this trip wouldn't be a complete loss. "I'm sure you'll find one to your liking as well, Nik. Something to get you away from those files you brought."

Klaus ignored him, thanking the man behind the counter for their keys before barely listening to the rest of the information. His attention was on the young woman who was following behind another of the crew members, though her gaze remained upwards. She was looking at every last inch of the ship, the awe in her features as she glanced around, before hurrying to follow the crewman beckoning to her, took Klaus' breath away.

There was no denying that she was beautiful with her blonde hair and legs that seemed to go on for miles, but it was the wonder he saw in her, the pure happiness that she seemed to be radiating as she moved to check in a few feet away from them, that had him watching her. Klaus couldn't remember the last time he had felt as carefree as she seemed to look.

"She looks like a tasty little thing," Kol murmured, and Klaus snapped to look at him, unsure why he felt so vehemently annoyed with those words about this girl he didn't even know.

"Let's go," he ordered, glaring at his brother as the two of them headed off to go find their room. He turned back to see her one more time but it was useless, the check-in area was growing more crowded and it seemed that she had already been led off toward wherever she was staying.

Perhaps he would see her again later. The cruise wasn't that big and considering Kol looked to be correct in his earlier assessment about most passengers' ages Klaus didn't think it would be too difficult to find her. It might take a bit of legwork but it wasn't as if that had ever stopped him from getting something that he wanted and Klaus was certain that he at least wanted to meet _her_. Maybe then he could shake off the allure of that smile and the excitement he had seen in her eyes, a reflection of what he had used to see in the mirror long ago, and for the first time in years desperately wanted to get back.

"Come on, Nik," Kol urged, breaking Klaus from his thoughts and he headed after his brother, desperately ready for that scotch.

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><p>"You do not need to carry me through the threshold!" Caroline protested, clinging tightly to Klaus as he swept her off her feet before she could enter his room—<em>their room.<em>

"I'm fairly certain that's part of the tradition, _Mrs. Mikaelson_," he pointed out, and she bit her lip at his bright smile. It wasn't a smirk or one of those 'know-it all ones' that she knew she made her fair share of as well. It was genuine, it was sweet, and considering how weak it made her knees maybe it was a good thing that he had picked her up.

"Well then, carry on, husband of mine," she told him, reciprocating the smile and laughing as he struggled to get the card into the machine to swipe it. Caroline took it from him and slid it through before he practically kicked the door open. She should have chided him about that, would have, but his mouth was pressing urgently against her own.

She never heard the door shut as he carried her across the living area of the room—so much bigger than her former one—and pressed her down onto the bed. Her arms never left him just as his mouth never left her, though it was currently skimming down her neck and making her close her eyes at the contact. Caroline could hardly believe everything that had happened in the last two weeks, how he'd gone from being the insufferable man with the annoying, immature brother, to her _husband_, but his hands moving against her back and trying to pull the zipper of her wedding dress down had her pushing all thoughts away. Her focus was on him, on trying to get the ridiculous tie off of him so she could remove the rest of the clothing that was in her way.

Though…

"Where's Kol?" Because the last thing she wanted was a recurrence of their first time with that halfwit stumbling in drunk and catching Klaus's head between her thighs.

"He'll be staying in your room from now on." Klaus reached to help with the wrangling of his time, looking entirely too amused with her inability to get it off. She frowned at that, not really wanting Kol to be going through her clothes. "I already had the luggage switched out."

"Don't you just think of everything," she teased, not surprised that he had. Klaus seemed to have back up plans for his original back up plans from what she'd seen of the last two weeks. She could only imagine what he would be like at home.

_Home_.

Oh my god.

"Where are we going to live?" Caroline asked, looking wide-eyed at him. How had they not thought about this? "Like I have my mom's place in Mystic Falls but that would be a seriously big commute for you and I had a great childhood and all but I wanted to get _out _of there."

"I suppose it's a good thing I have a flat in London," Klaus mused, clearly not as worried as she seemed to be about everything.

She pushed him back, the trepidation that hadn't come earlier now wanting to overwhelm her. "And college. I'm supposed to go to college. That's the next stage. I did high school so now it's college."

"There are a number of colleges in London, sweetheart," Klaus told her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

"I didn't apply to any there!" she protested, frowning when he kissed her nose. He always seemed to do that whenever he thought she looked adorable.

"Didn't you have a perfect SAT score—I believe that's what you called it—and were valedictorian of your class, head of a number of committees if I recall?" he reminded and she nodded.

"Well yeah but…"

"We don't have to figure every bit of it out right now, Caroline," Klaus assured, and she gave him a pointed look at that. Clearly that did not sit well with her need for control and knowing what was going to happen next. He wasn't the only one who liked his plans.

"But…"

He brought his hands to her face, gently cupping her cheeks. "We'll make it work," he promised and she nodded, needing to believe that, willing to believe it. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his mouth before pulling away again.

He looked ready to assure her all over again but she turned her back toward him. "Think you can get the zipper now, Mr. Mikaelson?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Klaus. She needed to suck in a breath at the way he looked at her, like she held the moon and stars in her hands just for him. She might never get used to that look but she cherished it every time that she saw it.

He swept her hair out of the way as she turned back; pressing a kiss to her shoulder as he slowly began to unzip her dress. They would make it work. There wasn't allowed to be any other alternative.

Caroline stood up, letting the dress pool at her feet as she turned around to face Klaus again. She couldn't help but smirk as he took her in; reminding her of the first time they'd been in this cruise room together. That had been a hurried affair though, barely able to keep their hands off one another as they had stumbled through the room, trying to make it back to the bed before eventually reaching it.

There was nothing hurried in the way he reached for her, hands sliding down her sides as she rested her hands on his shoulders and allowed him to tug her closer. "I thought you were insufferable," she murmured as Klaus dipped down to press a kiss to her hip. She couldn't seem to keep quiet, to not voice her thoughts even when the random chatter wasn't needed. It was a habit of hers and one she didn't think she would ever quite overcome.

His fingers brushed along the top of her underwear as his mouth moved upward, placing kisses along her stomach. "Loathsome. Annoying. Definitely stalkerish."

He paused, glancing up at her with a quirked brow before reaching her breasts. "You _just happened_ to be at every place that I was!" she reminded, rolling her eyes.

"Happy coincidences," Klaus pointed out, and it truly had been at first. He tugged her closer as he fell back on the bed, causing her to fall on top of him. "I believe I interrupted your trip down memory lane though." She arched a brow at that. "You forgot _charming._"

Caroline quirked her lips. "Well…" she tapped her fingers along his chest, giggling at the playful narrowing of his eyes. "_Vaguely_ charming."

"Vaguely?" Klaus asked as he slid his hands up her back, undoing the clasp her bra.

"More charming than Kol was," she told him as she slipped the straps of the bra off her shoulders and down her arms before tossing it away, not really caring where it landed for the moment. "And you're wearing way too many clothes now."

She kissed him before he could answer that, wanting to have the last word, and started working on the buttons of his shirt. His hands were gliding over her skin, almost as if he was trying not to leave an inch of it untouched before they tangled in her hair. There was an urgency now as she pressed her knees into the mattress on either side of him, pushing the unbuttoned shirt open to be able to run her fingers along his chest before helping him pull it off his arms.

Klaus took that moment to maneuver her underneath him again, lips pressing against hers before she could utter any sort of protest. His hands moved down her body, cupping her breasts in his hands as he felt her fumble with his belt. Thumbs brushed over her nipples while his mouth left hers, seeking out the tenderness of her neck, teeth scraping along the skin there. He smirked at her moan, delighting in the fact he had already learned a few of her favorite spots. He wanted to spend a lifetime committing every single one of them to record.

Belt unbuckled she moved to trying to get the stubborn buttons and zipper next, lips curving into a smirk at how hard she could feel that he already was. Klaus continued his movements down her body though, too far out of reach for her hands once he pressed his mouth to her stomach again, fingers fiddling with the garters on her thighs.

They were gone along with her panties after a few moments. She had propped herself up on her elbows to watch him but knew that wouldn't be lasting as soon as she lay bare before him, especially not when his head was between her thighs again. She fell back, gripping the cover beneath them as she felt his tongue and fingers on her and in her.

"God," she breathed out, shutting her eyes as she arched into him. She knew he had that damn smirk on his face as he continued, the pleasure building all throughout her body. "You…I just…there…oh _jeebus…_"

She didn't remember moving her hands but somehow they were in his curls, not wanting Klaus to move from where he was as she got precariously closer to that edge her body needed to dive off of. Not that he would move, but touching him was infinitely better than simply grabbing the sheets. Especially when he continued stroking her as she came, gasping out his name as she clenched her eyes closed, body straining from the release.

His mouth and hands moved to her thighs, kissing and touching their way up her body again. She heard the sound of his clothes being removed, the condom package being opened, but was still coming down off her high and had her eyes closed. She opened them when Klaus pressed his naked body to hers, his hands brushing away the hair that had fallen in her face.

"I do quite enjoy when you start talking gibberish?" Klaus reminded her and Caroline gently punched his shoulder before pressing a kiss to his nose.

She scraped her nails down his back, smiling at his little hiss, before his mouth crashed down against hers, the urgency rearing its head again. Caroline shifted, legs parting more for him as Klaus settled easily between her thighs, pressing his erection slowly into her. He groaned at the tightness of her, pressing his forehead against hers as their eyes closed, adjusting to the new position. It didn't take long for them to start moving, finding a rhythm that worked for the two of them as she wrapped her legs around him, urging him to go deeper.

Klaus eagerly did so, enjoying the way Caroline's head pressed back against the bed at that, loving the way her mouth opened in a silent moan, her nails digging into his back as she held onto him. He slipped one hand between their bodies, seeking out her clit, knowing the extra pressure against it would drive her wild. This was his wife beneath him, coming completely undone around him all over again, and there was nothing else that compared to the beauty of that.

Except her smile.

Klaus pressed his face into the crook of her neck as he reached his own release. They stayed locked together for a few more moments, both breathing hard before he pulled out and rolled off of her. He brought her with him as he did so, letting Caroline curl onto his chest.

He had never expected to fall in love, to care for someone as he did Caroline. Definitely never expected for it all to happen in such a short period of time, but Klaus had meant what he had told her, they would make this work, because he couldn't handle life without this light in it now that he had found it.

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><p><strong>April 2005<strong>

She was gone.

Not even an entire year since they had first met, since he had first seen Caroline's smiling face, and she had left. It was a wound that Klaus was certain would never quite heal, an ache that he would never be able to overcome. He still couldn't believe what had happened, wasn't quite sure what had transpired or how everything had gotten so wrong when it had started off perfectly.

He stared at the bed, _their_ bed, at the spot where she used to sleep. The last book she had been reading was still on the nightstand. No doubt her scent would still be all over the pillows, the sheets. He wasn't sure if that was something he wanted or if he needed to strip and burn them to rip her from his mind.

He needed a drink, needed to sink into the bottle and let it erase every inch of hurt from his body for a few hours. Maybe then he could extinguish every inch of her presence from his life, could manage to get them into the trash and discard her as easily as Caroline had been able to do to him.

Except he knew that wasn't true.

He had seen her blinking back the tears, had watched as her stepfather had helped her get into the taxi, watched as she rested her head against Stephen's shoulder and heard the start of her sobs as the driver closed the door.

He had nearly run to her then, to plea for a chance to work everything out, to try and fix whatever had become broken along the way. Klaus wasn't sure what had happened and it would haunt him until his death if he never figured it out.

Scotch seemed to be the answer and he headed out toward his office to retrieve some, stopping when he heard a sound from his daughters' room. _Daughter's room._ Only one now. The other was most likely in the air by now with her mother, flying away from him, from _them_. Klaus pushed open the door, swallowing at the sight of the ducks and bunnies he had spent a weekend painting with Caroline. Every inch of the room had been painstakingly picked out by her, the love she had for their children in every nook and cranny and Klaus wasn't sure if he loved or hated the reminder.

The baby was wailing and Klaus heard his siblings start moving about, ready to come and help out, but he closed the door, not wanting to deal with their incessant need to interfere and headed over to the two month old. He picked her up and headed to the rocking chair as he had done countless times before, though Caroline was usually in the other rocker that sat empty beside the other crib that would remain empty as well.

"It's okay," Klaus murmured, rubbing the infant's back as Rebekah peaked in.

"Does Elizabeth need her bottle now?" his sister asked and he frowned at that, the formality of the name. "Or a diaper change. I can do that if you need."

"It's Lizzie," Klaus reminded, needing to go by how Caroline had referred to her. "And we're fine, Rebekah. I'm more than capable of caring for my daughter."

"I was just trying to help," she snapped and slammed the door as she left. He could hear her huffing and puffing as she headed back to her room, but he ignored it, his focus on his daughter who was slowly falling back to sleep in his arms.

He placed Lizzie back in the crib after a while, ready to head back to his room to try and get some sleep when he spotted the photograph from only a few weeks before. It was him and Caroline holding the girls and for the first time he noticed that her smile wasn't quite as bright as it had been when he first met her.

Part of it yearned to know what had happened to dull it while the other hoped she was as miserable as him. He hated himself for that feeling but misery always did love company.

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><p><strong>June 2015<strong>

"Think about it," Lizzie started, walking back and forth in the cabin. The idea wouldn't leave her head. There was simply no way that anyone could look _exactly _like her for no reason. "I only have a father and have never seen my mother. And you only have a mother and have never seen your father." She could see that Charlotte wasn't quite wanting to go along with it, still shaking her head at what had to be an absurd idea.

"I only have one picture of my mum and you only have one picture of your dad," she continued, trying to get the girl to see reason. "It's not actually a whole picture though. It's pathetic really. It's crinkled and ripped."

"Like it's been ripped right down the middle?" Charlotte asked, looking wide eyed at her and finally getting Lizzie to stop yammering on.

"Yes. Exactly like that." Lizzie looked over at her suitcase almost at the exact same time that Charlotte looked over her own.

They headed toward their own luggage, each pulling out their coveted photograph and holding it to their chests. "We do this together. On the count of three, okay?" Charlotte told her, and Lizzie nodded as she turned back to look at her.

They slowly counted down, taking small steps toward one another before turning their photographs around. "That's my father," Lizzie gasped, staring at the picture Charlotte was holding.

"And that's my mom," Charlotte murmured, blinking back tears as the two of them sat down, putting the photographs side by side on the floor. They fit perfectly together.

Nothing would ever be the same after that.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Big huge thanks to Miranda for betaing this and helping me tweak what needs to be tweaked. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and following and everything all of you. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p><em>In your life, you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do-. C.<em>

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><p><strong>June 2004<strong>

It was a whirlwind of one sight after another for Caroline ever since leaving Mystic Falls. The airport wasn't that big of a deal. She had been in it more times than she could remember to fly out to visit her father and Stephen ever since they had moved out to California. The airplane had been another story though, vastly different than the crammed spaces she was used to on her cross-country flight.

She was thankful that her father had gotten her a window seat in the business class section and because of Bonnie being unable to come along (and thankfully no one snapping up the canceled seat at the last minute) she'd had a whole seat between her and the other passenger in her section of the row. That was good considering the man who resided there had done nothing but work the entire time, causing Caroline to miss the older women she usually found herself riding beside. Not talking for so many hours was a hardship she didn't like to endure and those women were usually as much of a chatterbox as she could be.

Thankfully she hadn't needed to figure out her own way to the cruise ship because of the car her father had hired to take her there and once onboard she was pleased to find that people did speak English. The only other language she knew was French and she doubted what she knew would do much more than help her locate the nearest bathroom.

Everything was tucked away into her stateroom on board—one that was definitely bigger than the one she had back home. So was the bathroom. Or at least at her old home, her mother's house that she hadn't stepped foot in after packing clothes that she'd need for staying at Bonnie's once her mother had been admitted to the hospital for good.

She didn't want to think about that though and pushed it to the deepest recesses of her mind, focusing instead on the artwork hanging on the walls of the bar area that she was in. She couldn't seem to stop widening her eyes at the intricacy of the architecture of the ship, all of the little details that were in the walls and on the floors, from the fabric to the paint.

Caroline sat down at one of the tables near the window that overlooked the port, watching others meander up the ramp to board the ship. The city of Barcelona was behind them and to the right and left and she wished she had gotten time to meander through it before being whisked away to the cruise ship but maybe she could do that when they returned to the port at the end of the journey.

Turning away from the view she spread the ship's map out in front of her, making mental notes of where everything was located, wondering what parts she wanted to see first and the best pathway to take so that she could see all of them. She jotted down various scenarios in her little notepad.

"You don't actually need to see every nook and cranny of it on day one, love," a British voice spoke and Caroline shivered at it, always a sucker for accents before she realized that it was being directed at her.

She looked up, brow creased to find a man that seemed to personify the sexiness of that accent sitting across from her. White loose button down shirt and aviator glasses that were hiding eyes she had a feeling fitted well with the accent as well. She hadn't even realized he'd sat down and quickly closed the notebook she'd been scribbling in. "Actually they recommend that you do that. Supposedly it helps ward off seasickness." At least that's what her research had said. "Helps you acclimate instead of just sitting around in your room and feeling the ship moving below you."

He arched a brow at that and she didn't like how amused he looked in that moment. She was never a fan of others finding her to be funny and like hell was she going to let some stranger dampen her first day. He seemed to notice her consternation and gestured to the map that she hadn't put away yet. Caroline cringed at that, mentally berating herself for leaving it out on the table.

Not that she actually cared about this random stranger's opinion. Though he definitely hit all of the criteria for her Mr. Right Now scenario. "Klaus," the man said, breaking her from her thoughts and she hoped she hadn't been staring at his lips. From his smirk she had a feeling that she had been.

"Hmm?" Caroline asked, folding up the map and slipping it to the side with her notebook.

"My name is Klaus," Klaus told her, and she wondered if this was one of those serial killer scenarios. "It's customary for you to tell me your name now."

She _was_ all by herself on this twenty day cruise, with like no one she knew and who would even be checking up on her? Bonnie and her father would eventually, but not for like twenty days and she could totally be in the ocean and being eaten by sharks by the time that happened.

"I know self-defense," she told him, narrowing her eyes as she looked him over, wondering what exactly a serial killer would look like. They had to be charming, didn't they? That was how they lured their victims in, wasn't it?

Klaus arched a brow, clearly amused with her response. "Pardon?"

"I can hold my own," Caroline continued, still eyeing him up.

"I don't doubt that for a moment," Klaus replied, and before she realized it he was waving over one of the bartenders. "I'll have a glass of your best scotch." He looked over at her. "What would you like?"

Something told Caroline that asking for a beer would not do in this situation and besides she could _legally drink _here, might as well take advantage of that. "A strawberry margarita. Frozen. And can I get an umbrella with it please?" She noticed Klaus' continued amusement and quirked her lips at him. "What?"

"I believe I'm still waiting for your name, Ms. Karate Star." That shouldn't have had her blushing but it did.

"I'm Caroline." She was certain that her mother was rolling over in her grave with that admission. Though her mother had also told her to 'not let life slip you by and be spontaneous once in a while.' So really, she was simply following the woman's directives. "And I really do know karate." Or well…sort of. She hadn't continued it after elementary school but she could hold her own.

Okay, she really didn't want to talk about that any longer. She glanced around, looking at the columns in the room. "I still can't believe how beautiful this place is. I can't wait to take it all in."

"I'm not sure whether it's trying for an Italian or Japanese influence. The mingling of the two doesn't quite work for it," Klaus replied as the bartender brought their drinks over. "Though this line does seem to be far better than some of the others out there in that respect. Actual artwork from up and coming artists instead of replications of the masters."

Caroline swirled the tiny umbrella around in her drink, nodding at that. She wouldn't have been able to pick out a replica from the original anyway. As long as it looked pretty who cared? "You've seen one cruise ship; you've pretty much seen them all. On the top deck will be where you can swim and tan. The deck under it for a few other relaxing activities such as the spa and the dining areas for lunch," Klaus told her and her eyes lit up at that, wanting to jot it down so she'd remember those tidbits. She refrained from getting out her notebook to do so though.

"I'm kind of hoping the pool isn't ridiculously crowded every day. I hear that it can be." Considering how many people could be on board it wouldn't be all that surprising it if was.

"It'll depend on the time of day and if we're docked or not." Oh that was good to know. "Around deck seven is where you'll find the other forms of entertainment—nothing all that interesting. Acts that were unable to find a job at a more worthwhile establishment," Klaus continued and Caroline pursed her lips at that, not liking his assessment at all. There had been a few shows that she had put on her list of things to see. "The drinks are decent though, don't you think sweetheart?"

"I'm sure it's not that bad," she muttered, hating how he was bringing down her excitement level.

"A high school talent show would have better pickings," he continued and she pursed her lips at that, wishing he'd go away. Why was he at her table anyway? There were like a hundred empty ones for him to choose from.

"Well, I doubt all of us have your incredibly high standards," she bit out, not finding the drink appealing any longer. "At least if the on board talent sucks there's plenty of excursions at all of the different ports."

"Depending on the guide you get they can be terribly dull. Especially if you book through the cruise line." That last bit just seemed to utterly deflate her. Of course that's what she'd done. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do?

"Or maybe they just don't work out all that well for you," she murmured, rolling her eyes at his assessment of everything.

"I've annoyed you," Klaus replied, looking her over and Caroline shrugged, not really wanting to carry on the conversation.

She rose from the table and gathered her things. "Thanks for the drink but I think I'm done now."

"Caroline."

She didn't expect him to hurry after her, stepping into her pathway and she stopped, thankful she hadn't tripped into him. Her hands were on her hips as she glared at him.

"Look, sweetheart. Let me make it up to you," Klaus started and she shook her head, having no desire to bother with him any longer. "Come, sit back and finish your drink with me."

"Look, _Klaus_. One, my name is _Caroline_ which you've already shown you know how to use so I'd prefer that to love or sweetheart or whatever other little endearment that you have in your repertoire." The pet names reminded her of high school boyfriends she'd rather forget. They hadn't meant anything then and they certainly didn't mean anything now. "This is my first cruise; my first time seeing all that _this _has to offer and _I _think it's beautiful. So you'll excuse me if I don't want to spend time with someone who apparently thinks it's mediocre at best."

Klaus looked ready to say something but the sound of someone yelling "Nik!" had him sighing and Caroline rolled her eyes, not even a little surprised that the guy hadn't told her his real name. She took the opportunity to slip out of the room when he turned toward the voice, grateful that the elevator was open and she was on it before he had a chance to try and stop her again.

The nerve of that guy. Her entire body was trembling with anger at him. Rationally she knew he hadn't done much aside from be a jerk but she'd dealt with enough jerks in high school, which she was now a graduate of, shouldn't men his age (he looked to be a few years older than her at least) be more mature? They couldn't all be like Damon Salvatore, could they?

_Ugh. _

She seriously hoped not.

From the accent and body alone she wouldn't have minded letting him be her _Mr. Right Now_ like she'd told Bonnie she would try and find. Too bad he'd been an insufferable ass. One that apparently couldn't even tell her his _real_ name.

Why did the really delicious guys always have to be assholes?

Caroline took a few deep breaths, mentally reminding herself that she probably wouldn't even see the ass again. It was a big ship. There would be a lot of passengers. She was going to have fun and not let some random guy's opinion color her experiences.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

"Didn't you already come through the line?" the woman behind the dessert counter asked, forehead creasing in confusion as she looked at Charlotte. "Where did your sweater go? Weren't you wearing a…"

Charlotte sighed, not for the first time wondering exactly how many of the workers at the camp needed to get their eyes checked. "This is our first time through, ma'am," April assured the woman, and Charlotte nodded at that.

"Plus can't we get as much dessert as we want anyway?" Vicki reminded, remembering that rule from orientation. As long as you got the rest of the courses you could have as much dessert as you wanted, just don't go crying to the health cabin over a stomach ache because you ate too many cookies.

"I really haven't been here yet," Charlotte told the woman who handed her the plate of cookies that she'd been after. "We just got out of archery."

She offered up a reassuring smile to the woman who nodded, not looking quite convinced, before the three headed over to pick out a drink to go along with their dinner. The other two were happily chatting away as they looked through the large bucket of ice for the juice that they wanted.

Charlotte could sense the woman still looking over at her, muttering something about a polk-a-dot dress that really didn't make _any _sense. She wouldn't be caught wearing polk-a-dots since the great Easter dress disaster when she was seven. Her mom wouldn't even buy her anything with polk-a-dots on it anymore.

It had been happening all week though, whenever they would head to an activity one of the adults would make a comment about how she'd already been through. Thankfully her cabin counselor always stepped in and assured that she definitely hadn't. The misidentifying was beginning to get ridiculous though and Charlotte wondered if she could ask Aunt Bonnie to send some herbs to enhance the counselor's memories or something.

Charlotte turned around and started to head for a table, content with the bottle of orange juice that she'd picked out, leaving the other two to continue to dig. She had worked up quite the appetite over the day and was _starving._

Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans for her instead of a nice, warm meal. One second she was nearly putting her tray down and the next she was being barreled into. Her grip on the tray faltered, bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy hitting her squarely in the chest.

Of course the cafeteria erupted in giggles and Charlotte despised how embarrassed she was feeling. She just knew she was going to be getting a nickname out of this incident. Probably potato girl or something like that.

_Ugh._

"Oh no! I'm so sorry," the other girl said, her eyes widening at the damage she'd done. It was the napkins that came next, smearing the potatoes and gravy even worse that had Charlotte flailing her hands.

"Stop! You're making it worse," Charlotte protested, pushing the girl's hands away. _Ugh. _There went another clean shirt and this one hadn't even had grass stains on it yet.

"I'm simply trying to help," the girl snapped, dropping the dirty napkins into the trashcan.

"You've totally already done enough," Charlotte snapped back, glaring at the girl before blinking at the same annoyed look on the other girl's face. She saw the same look of confusion in the other girl's eyes and Charlotte found herself looking over the girl, trying to understand what was happening.

_How_ did they look so alike? This wasn't just a similarity, it was like she was looking in the mirror and seeing her reflection staring back.

"How is this even possible?" the other girl started, and Charlotte didn't like that she was noticing the strangeness as well.

There was a crowd growing around the two of them, everyone whispering about the same peculiarity and while Charlotte's mom seemed to enjoy the spotlight, Charlotte hated when it was for something she couldn't control. And _this_ was definitely something she couldn't control. It was one thing while winning a sport or the science fair, but being looked at with people whispering was something she didn't think she would ever be able to accept. Her flight or fight response was definitely kicking in and she needed to leave.

"What are you going on about?" Charlotte snapped, wanting to get as far away from the girl and everyone else.

"Don't you see it? We look exactly alike!" the girl urged, waving a hand between the two of them.

"Hardly. My eyes fit with my face and my ears are definitely not as large as yours are," Charlotte snapped, thankful when the other girl pressed her lips together in anger before whirling around and walking away.

The group that had surrounded the two of them dissipated and Charlotte breathed out, happy to have no one staring at her anymore.

"That was totally freaky," Vicki murmured from behind. "She so looked like you, Char."

Charlotte shrugged, desperate to get away and ignore everything that had happened. She didn't even care about cookies that were wasted on the floor. "You know they say that everyone has a doppelganger out there in the world," April piped up as she scooped the crumbs off the ground and threw them into the trashcan.

"She's not my doppelganger," Charlotte rolled her eyes, not at all surprised at April's idea. "I think you've been reading way too many sci-fi novels. I'm gonna go and get some more food and napkins."

She left the other two to keep on passing theories off between the two of them and glanced around, spotting the other girl at a table in the back with some other campers. "It was an accident, Lizzie, try not to feel too bad," one of them assured the other girl and Charlotte scoffed at that.

How come she was getting all the sympathy when she wasn't the one walking around with a mess of potatoes on her shirt? How was that fair? She rolled her eyes again and headed over to grab one of the sandwiches, not really wanting to be in the cafeteria any longer.

Their resemblance _did_ explain why everyone kept thinking she'd already been through the different activities. Obviously she just needed to excel so well in all of them that they would be able to tell the two of them apart enough that the double-takes would stop happening. Charlotte could almost hear Grandpa Stephen reminding her not to get too competitive, could practically see her mother's amused laugh at that, because Charlotte had definitely inherited that competitive edge from her.

Oh well.

She'd made it nearly an entire week without seeing the one girl; _hopefully _she could make it the rest of camp without seeing her.

* * *

><p>Summer was a busy time in the event planning industry. There really wasn't a time of year that wasn't particularly heavy with various types of functions to lay out, but summer in Santa Barbara was a never ending line up of weddings, celebrity parties, internet design launches, and other random assortments of events. Her tiny business had grown into an almost monstrous undertaking in the last five years that she had been spearheading it. First college and then internships at a few different agencies had allowed her to gain a name for herself and acquire all the connections that were needed to really make any headway in the business.<p>

It definitely had helped to have her father and Stephen's support, letting her plan out a number of their functions for their Internet Company had allowed for a lot of doors to open with their friends. Caroline's perfectionist eye, charm, and hard work ethic had done the rest.

She headed into the office, smiling brightly as she sipped her coffee. Her phone vibrated in her pocket _again_ and after a quick look at who was trying to contact her she ignored it _again_. "Lucy's out of the orchids that we need for the Festern Quinceañera," Judy told her as soon as she entered, phone already out and ready to list off the other few snafus that needed to be dealt with.

"Then remind her that this is the third time she's failed to deliver and let Jaque know we'll be doing business with him permanently from now on," Caroline told her as she tossed the empty cup into the waste basket. She surveyed the room, noting who was already out and who was busily typing away on the computer or chatting with clients.

"Your dad called. He said dinner is at 7 and he's not taking no for an answer. Just because Charlotte's not here doesn't mean family dinner is kaput," Judy continued, and Caroline pursed her lips at that. "_His_ words, not mine. He also said to let you know that if you're not home by 6:30 that he'll just bring dinner here."

Seemed like she wouldn't get away with working late at the office tonight. Was it her fault that she didn't particular want to be home without Charlotte there? The house felt infinitely emptier without her daughter's constant chatter and she missed her. "Mrs. Aldivar called and she'll be about thirty minutes late for her meeting. You don't have anything near her so it shouldn't mess up the schedule."

Caroline nodded, not at all surprised that the woman was going to be late. She had been late every other time they had scheduled something. If she hadn't been the wife of a city councilmen then Caroline would have probably dropped her from the client list, but considering how many functions the woman needed planned a year, a few late sessions was something she would deal with. "And Tyler's called. About five times since we opened," Judy finished, as they entered Caroline's office.

"I'll return his call later." Like she had said she would do yesterday after his bombshell at the lunch they'd had. Apparently giving her one day to think things over had been too much of a thing to ask. "Thanks, Jude."

The older woman nodded, setting down a list of everything that she had gone over and a few other minor details that needed to be looked into at some point during the day. Her cellphone lit up again, Tyler's picture staring at her from the screen and Caroline hit the button again, ignoring his call. It was too early in the morning to deal with any of that.

She pushed the button on her office phone, listening to the various messages that had been left in the hours the office had been closed, and jotted down notes on who she needed to call back, who to hand off to one of her staff to deal with, and made notes on a the calls that didn't need to be returned. "Care," Tyler's voice started on the machine and she leaned back in her chair, thankful that the rest of the staff were far enough away that they wouldn't be able to hear what he had to say. "I know my question must have come as a big shock, but come on. I need an answer. I deserve one. You can't avoid me forever."

"So what exactly does Tyler need an answer on?" a voice piped up from the doorway and Caroline looked up to see Bonnie leaning against it, bag of bagels in hand.

Caroline mentally slapped herself for forgetting that today was their usual coffee and bagel catch up session. She could always lie, but Caroline knew that lying to Bonnie Bennett _never_ went all that well for her. And not just because Bonnie seemed to have a sixth sense for lies but because Caroline had very easy tells when she was trying to skirt the truth.

Bonnie shut the office door and placed the bag down on the desk, waiting for an answer. "He asked me to marry him," Caroline murmured, grabbing at the bag so she had a reason to not look at Bonnie. She really didn't want to see her friend's reaction to that.

She could feel it though, could imagine what Bonnie's face was doing in her mind. The surprise, the confusion over why Caroline wasn't busting from the seams with happiness, and then the worry mixed with a readiness to lay down some cold hard truths.

"I thought you liked Tyler?" Bonnie asked, taking the bag back as Caroline slowly smeared cream cheese onto a bagel.

"I do…" She did like Tyler but marriage wasn't about _liking _someone. Marriage was about loving someone…and even then she'd already learned how little that seemed to matter. "He hasn't even met Charlotte yet. You know I don't like her to meet men I see unless it's serious."

"I'd think a marriage proposal is pretty serious, Caroline," Bonnie pointed out and Caroline couldn't discount that. It was serious and yet…

"I haven't said yes yet. That's why he keeps calling. I told him this was a huge decision and I needed to think." Apparently he thought she'd had enough time to do so.

"Why not?" Bonnie was watching her carefully and Caroline didn't mean to touch the necklace that she was wearing, the one that she kept underneath her shirt, hiding the little gold band that she couldn't seem to rid herself of. No one else would even know the significance of it, wouldn't even know what the silver chain was hiding, but Bonnie had been there when she'd first taken that ring off and placed it on the necklace instead.

She hadn't worn it in years, had kept it sealed up in one of her dresser drawers along with a few other things that she couldn't quite bring herself to get rid of, no matter how painful the memory. But then Tyler had asked her to marry him and she'd needed to touch the tiny ring that brought her as much despair as it had happiness at one point.

"You're still wearing that?" Bonnie sighed, bagels completely forgotten as she leaned across the desk, grasping Caroline's hand and giving it a squeeze. "Caroline, he's not worth holding onto."

"I know." She really did, but somewhere deep down she kept holding onto the what-ifs and couldn't quite shake them no matter how hard she tried.

"You can't keep punishing yourself over it all, Caroline," Bonnie continued, giving her hand another squeeze. "Over him. Over…Lizzie." Caroline sucked in a breath at her daughter's name, heart clenching painfully at the reminder that she was a world away. "You need to live too. You've been a great mom to Charlotte. A fantastic daughter. An amazing business woman. A fabulous friend, even if your blind date options definitely need work. But you need a chance for _you_ to find happiness too."

"I'm happy, Bonnie." For the most part. She had almost everything she needed.

"But could Tyler make you even happier?" Bonnie prodded, and Caroline let go of her hand, sighing deeply at the question. "You don't have to answer that right now but I think it's something you need to seriously think about. Because if he could then you should let that happen. Holding onto ghosts isn't doing you any good and you know it. I've seen the two of you together. I know you like him. He's a little hotheaded sometimes but overall, he's a good guy from old money who has a stable job—which okay, you've got money too but at least you know he's not in this just for your inheritance." Which was something she'd dealt with before once or twice since her dads' business had skyrocketed. "This isn't like those few random ones throughout the years that never made it past the third date, Care. You've been together for nearly a year. Why aren't you letting him meet Charlotte?"

Caroline frowned, not entirely sure how to answer that question, didn't want to delve into the inner workings of her psyche to try and justify her hold up on doing so. She couldn't exactly give Tyler an answer until he did meet her daughter. She knew once that happened though that the likelihood of really moving on would grow exponentially and that caused her stomach to twist into knots.

"She's home in a few weeks, right? Do you want her to meet him?" Bonnie asked and Caroline stared at her bagel for a long moment. "Because if you don't want her to then you need to tell him no." What was the point if the guy was never going to be allowed around her daughter?

"No, I do want them to meet." She really did. She thought Charlotte might like him and Tyler would like her. "I just wasn't sure on _how _to make that happen." Or rather, she'd been repeatedly putting it off, waiting for the next opportunity to come around. That needed to stop though. It was time to stop holding onto what-ifs that were never going to happen and actually start taking chances. "I need that to happen before I can give any kind of answer." He would need to understand that.

"That's a start at least. I'm sure if you tell Tyler that he'll understand." And if he didn't then obviously he wasn't worth the time and effort. Bonnie pushed the bagel bag back in front of Caroline. "Now let's eat because I'm starving and have to be out of here in thirty to make it to my class."

"Never a good look when the Professor is the late one." Caroline grinned, pushing aside all of the worry that bubbled inside of her.

For now she'd enjoy some time with Bonnie and later after work and dinner with Stephen she'd mull over Bonnie's words. She did deserve happiness and she was happy with Tyler. Maybe a life with him would be good. Not quite the all-consuming passion of what she'd had but considering how that affair had ended, maybe that was a good thing.

* * *

><p>"It's all in order, Elijah," Klaus told his brother, not even bothering with a goodbye as he ended the call. He knew that he would most likely hear about that in a matter of hours but there was only so much discussion over details that had been gone over a hundred times already that he could tolerate. Especially when doing so with his older brother.<p>

He headed into his office, glancing up from his phone as one of the legal aides stepped up beside him, handing him a folder. "Found our smoking gun," Lexi told him, rubbing her hands together with obvious satisfaction. "People really need to learn that nothing ever disappears on the internet."

Klaus flipped through the images, smirking at the Facebook pages she'd printed that clearly proved the opposition's client had been lying. "Now work on getting into evidence," he told her, passing the folder back to her. "Good job, Alexia. Let the team know that lunch is on me if you can get that done before noon."

She grinned and headed off back to one of the rooms that the others were busily working away in while he continued on down toward where his office was located. "Your mother called," Pearl, his secretary, told him. "She would like you to call her back and your sister decided to drop by." The woman glanced into the office, scowling slightly before looking back at him. "I tried to get her to leave but…"She shrugged, turning back to her computer to keep on typing.

Keeping Rebekah from doing what she wanted was more headache than anyone should have to deal with; if he couldn't manage it how did he expect any of the staff to do so?

"Twenty minute time limit?" Pearl questioned, setting a timer on her phone for that amount.

"You're a lifesaver," Klaus told her before steeling himself to deal with Rebekah.

He was in no mood to see her, already having a good idea of what it was that she wanted to talk about. One being Lizzie's absence for the next eight weeks and the other no doubt how she hoped he'd be hitting up some of mother's soirees this year. It didn't help that Elijah managed to make every function while Klaus hadn't attended one in ages. His excuse for not wanting to leave Lizzie for that many hours wouldn't hold any water this year and he knew he needed to come up with new reasons to satisfy both his sister and mother.

"What is it that you want, Rebekah?" Klaus asked as soon as he entered, finding Rebekah perched one of the chairs and enjoying a cup of tea.

"Is that any way to greet your favorite sister?" she chided, pouting at him and briefly reminding him of happier more carefree days when they were younger and that look would have gotten her whatever she wanted from him.

"You're my only sister," Klaus reminded as he rounded the desk and Rebekah shrugged, waving that comment off.

He spotted the door to the adjoining room, the one that led to Lizzie's play area. It had gone through many transformations over the last ten years—from a nursery to a play room filled with various toys to something a little more mature, books, magazines and the iPad replacing the dolls that had once lined the shelves. She hadn't even been gone a full week and already he missed the sound of her voice, the pattering of her feet on the floor there and at their house. Her laugh, one that was so much like…

"I can't believe you sent her away for _eight weeks_, Nik!" Rebekah commented as she followed his gaze to the room. "We were supposed to do Paris this year. All the little boutiques."

"She's the one who wanted to go to the camp," Klaus reminded, remembering the presentation his daughter had given about all of the pros to doing summer camp and why the one she had picked was the best choice out of all of them. Even if it was over a continent away. "Besides, she's not a fan of shopping for hours like you are."

"Lizzie just needs to build up her endurance is all," Rebekah told him, and Klaus didn't bother to answer that, turning his focus to his email instead. He knew that wouldn't dissuade his sister though, not when she was there to try and get something out of him. "Though I do suppose that at least with her gone you'll be able to partake in the social scene this summer. Perhaps meet someone. I know mother would love that."

And there it was. "I meet plenty of women."

"I don't mean your endless parade of floozies that you sleep with once, maybe twice, and then discard like yesterday's business," Rebekah scoffed, and he didn't even need to look up to know that she was rolling her eyes at him. "You can't keep living like that. You never let them meet Lizzie."

"Why would I let them meet her when I only plan for them to be around for a night or two?" Klaus asked. It wasn't as though he brought the women home. He had no intention of Lizzie stumbling upon a naked woman when she woke in the morning.

"How will you ever know if any of them are wife material if you don't let them meet her?" Rebekah replied, and Klaus looked up at that, wondering what in the world she was going on about. "Doesn't Lizzie deserve a mother, Nik? You've done well with her but she needs a woman's touch. She needs a mum."

His insides froze at her words, fists clenching at the very idea of going out there to look for someone to be Lizzie's mother. She had a mother. She didn't need another one. "I think I know what's best for my daughter, Rebekah."

She sighed, clearly exasperated with him. "You're still hung up on her, aren't you? She _left you_, Nik. She abandoned this family and Lizzie and you need to get that through your thick skull and move on."

Klaus' eyes narrowed at her words. He'd believed that as well once, clung tightly to hating Caroline for breaking up his family, but the memory of her sobbing against Stephen as the cab drove away had him wondering what had really happened, what had caused her to need to leave London, that caused her to need to _leave_ _him_. He still hadn't figured that out. He could sniff out lies a mile away when questioning people on the stand, get them to squirm just enough before they spilled their guts and laid it all out on the line, but Caroline…it was a still as much a mystery to him that day as it had been nearly ten years ago.

"Time for you to leave, Rebekah," Klaus told her, unable to help the venom in his voice. She shook her head at him and he hated the pity that he saw there.

"She was never good enough for you anyway," Rebekah muttered before picking up her purse and strolling toward the door. It took all of Klaus' restraint not to throw something at her. "Mother expects you at dinner this week. Or she'll be the one showing up here next."

Klaus watched her leave, glaring as the door closed behind her. He waited fifteen minutes to be certain that she was gone or at least up visiting Elijah in his office before heading out to leave, letting Pearl know that he'd be back in a few hours. He headed straight home and up into the attic that he'd turned into a studio. He needed to get out his anger, needed to focus it into something so that he didn't blow up like he was prone to do.

Having Lizzie had meant working to channel all of his frustration and rage into something so that she didn't bear the brunt of his bad moods. Painting was something he'd done when he was younger and practically abandoned when he'd entered college. He'd gone back to it after Caroline had left.

Klaus draped his suit jacket across the back of a chair and rolled up his sleeves as he placed a new canvas on the easel. He already knew what it would turn out to be. He'd painted the same image for the last ten years, trying to decipher their meaning, to figure out the cause of the sadness he'd been unable to detect in Caroline's eyes. Two blue eyes would stare back at him in the end, never quite able to give him what he needed, but at least the rage would have vanished by the time he finished.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Big huge thanks to the wonderful Miranda for betaing this. And thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing and following and all that jazz. I added dates to the previous chapters and this one to give a better understanding of when everything is taking place.

* * *

><p>"<em>That's the thing about 'what ifs'; they don't matter. They don't change anything. All they do is make it unable for you to heal.<em>"- Lindy Zart

* * *

><p><strong>June 2004<strong>

Of course Kol would pop up and ruin any chance Klaus had of trying to smooth over the situation he'd created. His brother always tended to show up at the worst times, though at least this time he hadn't been situating himself in the middle of a conversation and doling out details of his past that never needed to see the light of day again. But Caroline was gone and Klaus felt a coldness about him that he'd never truly experienced before, like her departure had sucked out all the warmth around him.

Which was _absurd._ Someone he barely knew, that he had only just met, couldn't have the ability to do that.

It had been easy enough to pass Kol off onto an unsuspecting crew member and Klaus almost felt sorry for the poor girl as he headed off, leaving her to be charmed by his younger brother. He checked everywhere that he could think Caroline might go. It was her first cruise and Klaus knew that she wanted to explore every inch of the ship so he'd tried out all of the usual spots that first timers sought out.

Every so often he would catch a whiff of her perfume, but it was always a fading scent, something taunting him about the lack of her presence, no doubt a sign that he'd just missed locating her.

He'd nearly given up and was down on the central deck, wondering if there was a way to get one of the crewmembers to offer up what room she was residing in. Klaus had a feeling that wouldn't go well for him, no matter how much money he could throw their way. It would probably get him kicked off the cruise and while it'd be amusing to see Elijah's face when he learned of that, Klaus was more interested in remaining on board and finding her.

Luck seemed to be on his side though when he spotted Caroline sitting down in the travel booking area, flipping through one of the pamphlets about the excursions offered during their trip.

Klaus knew that his previous approach wasn't going to work with her. His comments about the ship, trying to showcase his knowledge, to impress her like he did with every other woman he'd run across, had obviously fallen flat and that simply wouldn't do.

Though he wasn't quite sure _why_ it mattered to him what she thought about him, why it mattered that he take one more chance to get to know her. It wasn't as though there weren't plenty of women on board that he could turn his charms toward and not have them scoffing during their first interaction. Maybe it was the fact that she had done that. He did love challenges and conquering them to prove that he wasn't a weakling.

That didn't explain the coldness he'd felt when she'd disappeared out of sight before though.

Perhaps it was best if he chalked that up to traveling with Kol. His brother usually managed to upset his equilibrium in a matter of minutes and he had endured an entire plane and car ride with the boy.

Klaus headed over to Caroline, mentally trying to figure out what course of action to use on her now as he sat down in the chair beside her. He couldn't help but grin at the intensity she held while reading through the brochure, not noticing anything that was really happening around her.

"I'd have thought you would have already booked these excursions by now," Klaus commented, fairly certain in his assessment of the young woman. It was obvious that she was a planner from her earlier jotting down in her notebook to the fact she actually had the ship's newspaper in her lap with areas highlighted.

"_Seriously_?!" she looked over at him, sighing as she set down the brochure for a moment. It seemed that the last hour or so hadn't quite lessened her annoyance with him. "If you _must_ know, I'm altering what I already booked. Why are you here anyway? I thought you found the excursions to be a bore."

Klaus couldn't help but laugh at the horrible British accent she tried to use with that sentence. "I said that they _could be_ depending on who is leading them."

She rolled her eyes; something he was beginning to notice was a trademark of hers, before picking up the pamphlet again. "If it lets me see what I want to see I'll take my chances on it being boring. Something tells me we've got different ideas on what boring equals anyway."

"And what do you think I might find boring, Caroline?" Klaus enjoyed the way her name rolled off his tongue, all three syllables of it moving about like a gentle caress that he'd like to be moving up her bare arm.

"Anything that doesn't live up to your apparently high standards, Klaus?" She lowered the pamphlet again. "I don't get the whole coming up to talk to me again when you obviously didn't even tell me your real name. Like what? You thought your accent and expensive tastes would just have me dropping my panties for you? I dunno if that's what happens on cruises but that's so not happening here. So feel free to move along to the next girl any time now." She looked around the floor and motioned toward an older woman who was complaining to one of the crewmen about the loudness of the woman playing on the harp in the lobby. "I think the two of you would hit it off really well."

"I told you my name," Klaus wasn't sure what she was referring to and frowned, trying to understand, especially when she was turning her attention back toward the pamphlet and turning away from him, a sure sign that she was ending the conversation.

"Whatever you say, _Nik_."

Ah.

"Nik is what my younger siblings call me. Niklaus would be what my parents named me. Considering I abhor others calling me that and it feels weird to have anyone outside of my younger siblings calling me Nik, I chose Klaus as the name I'd go by," he explained, and watched as she took in his words, her lips forming a delightful little O.

"Still doesn't make up for you seriously crushing my first cruise high," Caroline muttered and Klaus nodded, knowing that his earlier attitude had definitely not set the best first impression.

He would need to rectify that. "How can I acquit myself?"

She looked over at him, brow arched. "People do not actually say that."

"I am a person and I just did love, so I think you'll find that people do in fact say that," Klaus replied, watching as she tried to force down a smile. "Seeing as it's your first cruise, I'm guessing you've never been on the captain's deck?" He watched her quirk her lips for a moment before she shook her head. "Would you like to accompany me there then? Once you're finished reworking your bookings."

"I don't think you can just head to the captain's deck whenever you want. There are times set aside and a wait list," Caroline told him and Klaus opened his mouth before promptly shutting it. "What?"

His answer could definitely annoy her but there was little use in not saying it. Especially if it would get her to spend more time with him. "You can if you're staying in the penthouse suite." He could see her hesitancy; practically feel the internal war that was going on inside of her. "Think of it as an apology for ruining your high."

"Or you could just apologize," Caroline pointed out, giving him a pointed look.

"I apologize for ruining your first time cruise high and would like to help you get it back if I may," Klaus informed her, bestowing on her a look that his little sister had dubbed his 'puppy look'. It worked every time to help sway someone to his idea. From the way Caroline twisted her lips and glanced away from him before sighing and looking back at him with less hostility he had a feeling it was working this time as well.

"Fine, but if you ruin it again your chances have shriveled up and no amount of that look will get you another one," she told him before looking back at the pamphlet again, though the atmosphere between the two of them had lightened significantly.

"I'll endeavor not to do so," he smiled, leaning back in the seat as he watched her pick up another packet while waiting for one of the hosts to be ready to help her.

"Mmmm."

"Why are you altering your plans?" Klaus inquired after a moment. "Perhaps I can give some pointers on the excursions that aren't all that appealing."

"I'm just making my party go from two to one. I want to let them know in case there's anyone who wants to join the small group tours that I picked," she told him. "My best friend was supposed to be doing this cruise with me but she kinda had her appendix removed the other day." He made a mental note of the fact the friend was a girl. Hopefully that meant she wasn't currently seeing anyone. Not that it would stop his pursuit but it was good information to know.

"You don't have to do that in person, Caroline. I can have my butler relay that information to them." Klaus tried not to laugh at her incredulous look. "Perks of the penthouse. It also means we can head to see the Captain's deck before the ship departs. You'll want to be on deck when that happens, sweetheart."

She pursed her lips, still looking uncertainly at him as he stood. Klaus smirked as he rose, confident that she wouldn't turn down the once in a lifetime experience. "Take a chance, Caroline."

"_Fine_. But only because I've always wanted to see what it looks like."

That was enough for the moment and Klaus realized that as Caroline stood and motioned for him to lead the way, that the coldness he'd been feeling earlier was gone and replaced by a warmth that he didn't want to ever let go of.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

It seemed that fate had been nice to the girls during that first week of camp. While they had been able to avoid ever crossing one another's paths before it seemed that now wherever they turned the other one was there; in the cafeteria, at the lake, during camp sing-alongs. It was like they couldn't quite escape one another and that combined with the constant chatter about how they looked _so similar_ had both girls on the edge.

Maybe if they didn't have similar interests it would have been workable and the fact they both seemed to have a competitive streak that reached at least a mile long wasn't doing either of them any favors. The need to constantly one up the other, to show that they were better than this stranger with the same face seemed to hold steadfastly to each of them.

"Why don't we just go do the pottery class now?" April suggested as the three of them spotted Lizzie picking up a tennis racket. "I heard that we're going to get to make necklaces today."

"But there's hardly anyone at the courts now," Charlotte pointed out, wondering what had her friend changing her mind about tennis. She'd been ecstatic to finally get a chance at it. The older girls usually hogged the courts during the cooler times of day and this was their opportunity to shine.

"We could always play tomorrow," April continued, trying not to glance over to where the British girl was with her group of friends. That only brought Charlotte's attention over to the group as well and she scowled as she spotted Lizzie.

"_Ugh._" Of course she was there. "No way are we leaving. If we go now we'll probably never get another chance to play."

"We're going to stay on the other side of the courts from her though, okay?" April pleaded and Charlotte nodded.

"Definitely." The less talking she did with the other girl the better her day would go. "Come on; let's get a racket before we're stuck with the crappy ones."

The plan to stay away from Lizzie started off well, just like every other time Charlotte promised her friend it would happen. Unfortunately that only worked for so long. During horseback riding the two had been the only ones who were able to get their horses to jump every single obstacle without their stallions knocking them over. Was it Charlotte's fault that they'd ridden the horses to the point of exhaustion as they tried to get a more perfect score than the last time? Or at gymnastics when they'd taken over the uneven bars as they tried to out maneuver one another for nearly two hours?

So of course when the tennis games were played and people were placed to play against the next top player it eventually came down to Charlotte versus Lizzie. She could hear April groaning from the sidelines while one of Lizzie's friends had her face in her hands as she sighed.

"I'm surprised you even know how to play," Lizzie commented as she bounced a tennis ball off her racket for warm up. "I'd think you would be more into what you all call football here. Even if it has nothing to do with your feet."

"My mom likes me to be well-rounded," Charlotte told her, hitting the ball with her racket and watched as it narrowly missed hitting Lizzie. She offered up her most innocent look as the other girl glared back before the instructor finally strode over to them.

"Alright girls, we're here to have a good, clean, fun game," the woman told them as she motioned for them to step forward and shake hands.

It was odd being so close to Lizzie again, to look at her this close up. The similarities between the two of them really were freaky and Charlotte couldn't shake that feeling like she was looking in the mirror when she did so. She begrudgingly shook the other girl's hand, jumping a little at the contact. Even their hands felt similar. She saw that Lizzie had the same small freak out but ignored the curious look the girl was giving her as she turned around and strode back toward her end of the court.

The game didn't last very long, not with how the two of them were slamming the balls across the court, nearly hitting one another as they managed to earn their points. "Let's keep this civil!" the instructor reminded.

"Yes, please. I would like that when I beat you that there is no questioning on how much better I am than you," Lizzie called out to her and what was Charlotte supposed to do with that kind of taunt? Walk away? Probably. It's what her mother would have told her to do but there was no way Charlotte was letting that go.

"_Excuse you!"_ Charlotte shouted, stomping over toward the net, not at all surprised that Lizzie did the same.

The next few seconds all happened in a whirlwind and Charlotte would never be able to explain how her racket went flying with the ball or how Lizzie's did as well. The fact that both hit the instructor at the same time was definitely not doing them any favors.

A hushed silence fell over the court as they all stared at the woman who was groaning before she pushed herself up and stared at the two of them with a heated look. "_That's it_. You and you, with me. We're going to talk to the Head Counselor."

A chorus of _ooooooh's _broke out among the others as she pointed for the two of them to exit the court. "This is all of your fault," Lizzie muttered, glaring at Charlotte who simply rolled her eyes and stomped off after their instructor. She really should have just listened to April and done pottery instead that day.

* * *

><p>"Hey, babe," Tyler greeted, leaning down to kiss her cheek before he moved to sit down beside Caroline.<p>

She had finally agreed to lunch, letting him know she would have an answer then. From his upbeat demeanor Caroline had a feeling that he was expecting a yes. Maybe eventually it would turn into that but she knew she couldn't give that answer until he met Charlotte and that was what she needed to tell him.

"Did you order yet? I've got an hour before I have to be back at work," he told her as he waved down a waitress. "What do you think about destination weddings? Maybe on a beach somewhere. We've got amazing ones here but we could do better."

"Tyler," Caroline started, not surprised at all when his attention turned to the waitress to order drinks for the two of them.

"Or cruise ones seem to be pretty popular nowadays," he suggested and Caroline's insides froze at the idea.

"No. Not that." She had done that once already. A whirlwind romance and a whirlwind marriage on a cruise ship and look at how that ended. She had a beautiful daughter and that she could never regret but she also had another daughter somewhere else and that pain never lessened, no matter how many years passed.

"Alright, no cruise ones," Tyler replied, flashing her a grin.

"No wedding at all," she continued, and then cringed at her own words. She hadn't meant it to come out like that. "I can't accept this." She set down the box with the ring he'd insisted she take with her while she was thinking about her answer. He looked shocked at her answer and that didn't surprise her. Tyler Lockwood wasn't used to things not going his way. "You haven't met Charlotte yet, Ty. I can't say yes when that hasn't happened yet."

He seemed to relax at her words and nudged the box back toward her. "Okay, so when do I get to do that?"

"She's at camp for a few more weeks." And then it was a matter of Caroline finally allowing a meeting to happen. She wanted it to, she did. Tyler was the longest lasting relationship she'd had in the last ten years. It was just a huge step and she was terrified of making it.

"We'll do dinner when she gets back. Or I don't know. What is it that…ten…" He paused for a second; looking at her as if he was trying to make sure that was the right number. "Do?"

"Depends on the mood she's in. She likes food though. We can just do it at my place." Stephen could cook. He was the only one in their family who was any good at it. "Maybe BBQ."

She didn't miss the crinkle of disgust in Tyler's nose at that but there was no time to comment on it as a familiar voice called out to the two of them. "Tyler! Caroline!"

It was just their luck that his mother would be at the same place as them. Though from the way Tyler was intently looking at Caroline maybe it wasn't such a coincidence. "She's here to talk about wedding planning."

"What?" Caroline nearly dropped the piece of bread she'd been ready to butter. "Why is she…?"

"Because I thought you were saying yes," he snapped and Caroline frowned at that. "We've been together for months. We obviously love one another. Just let me handle her. It's not like you've said no either. It's just a wait until I meet your kid."

"Charlotte," Caroline bit out, annoyed with the way he'd referenced her.

"Charlotte," he repeated with a nod. "I'll get her to leave."

"No, it's okay. You have lunch with your mom. I need to get back to work anyway," she told him as she rose.

"Caroline," he started, rising as well, but she shook her head.

"I'll call you later," she promised, leaning forward to give him a kiss before nodding to Carol as she neared their table.

She slipped away before the other woman could stop her, mind reeling, and thankful that she didn't hear much of their conversation aside from Tyler's excuse for her leaving. Heading back to work wasn't an option, not with how jittery she was feeling. There wasn't anything she had to go over either and Caroline knew that she'd only drive the rest of her employees insane with her overseeing if she went there.

Home wasn't where she wanted to be either. With Charlotte gone the house was colder, emptier and she didn't like being there. It was what her life would be like when her little girl finally grew up and left for college and her own life. That emptiness worried Caroline. She didn't like the quietness of the house, the lack of someone's presence inside of it with her. But that wasn't reason enough to accept marriage proposal.

Shaking her head, she forced anymore thoughts about that out of it, and headed off in the direction of her dads' place. If anyone could help her wrap her head around things it would Stephen. Plus she'd get something to eat.

* * *

><p><strong>June 2004<strong>

"The Flamenco dance." Klaus arched a brow, looking incredulously at her and Caroline shrugged.

"It just looks like fun. All vibrant colors and it's been around for ages. It's practically its own art form." Could she help it that she loved a variety of dance types? She blamed it on being the captain of her cheerleading squad. Integrating various other dance forms had helped her team spice up their routines and win regionals her junior and senior year. And now she had a chance to see people who'd been learning the dance since they were children, how was she supposed to pass that up?

Klaus shook his head at her enthusiasm, enjoying the way she practically lit up as she talked about the Spanish dance. "We're going to want to finish up soon then if we're going to make the show then, sweetheart."

"A show?" Klaus sighed at that voice, not at all surprised that Kol had finally found him again. He was almost impressed with how long it had taken. Though that probably had more to do with whatever mess Kol had gotten up to over lack of effort.

"Brother, don't take this exotic creature to one of those boring things." Kol leaned forward and clasped hold of Caroline's hand, bringing it up slightly so he could press a kiss to the back of it. Klaus couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the display. "Kol Mikaelson, darling." Kol looked up at her, wriggling his eyebrows as he continued, "the charming brother."

She wrenched her hand back, shaking her head as she laughed and looked over at Klaus. "So basically you're entire family comes off as pompous asses on their first meeting."

"Oh I like this one," Kol commented as he slid onto the empty chair, smiling brightly. "Not trying to butter us up because of our name. Makes getting into a girl's nickers that much easier but it's dreadfully dull."

A swift kick under the table caused Kol to yelp. "How else is anyone supposed to endure one of mother's garden parties except by working toward getting under someone's skirt?" Another kick was Klaus' reply and he tsked at Klaus before turning back to Caroline. Kol propped his elbows up on the table and looked her over. "I bet this enchantress has heard worse. Where in the world did he even find you, darling? Everyone I've spotted on this ship is old enough to be my mother."

"It's Caroline, not darling." Maybe she shouldn't have told him her name. Oh well. Too late now.

"_Care-o-line_," Kol practically sang out her name. "You're a little cruise virgin, aren't you?" She wrinkled her brow at the turn of phrase. "Always so easy to pick out. Wanting to see the shows and engage in the historical outings. You'll soon learn it's much more fun to get completely smashed at the pool. Can't beat the free drinks."

"I'll be doing that too." Because how in the world could she say no to free alcohol and tanning? "But it's not _all_ I want to do. I'm a touch more sophisticated than that."

"I bet you're a bikini girl, aren't you?" Kol asked before yelping again, rubbing his shin as he looked over at Klaus, undeterred. "Tell me you wouldn't want to see more of this one's body. A one piece simply wouldn't do." He moved out of Klaus' range, turning his attention back to Caroline. "When you decide to be done with this bore feel free to look me up. I'm much more adventurous."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she told him, not at all surprised when he winked at her before strolling away and moving onto his next conquest. Caroline looked back at Klaus who was glowering in his brother's direction. She raised the glass to her lips, noting again how different the expensive wine tasted compared to the cheap boxed kind her friends and she would occasionally manage to get back in Mystic Falls. "I'm suddenly very grateful to be an only child."

"Growing up was never boring," Klaus murmured, thankful that Kol was finally gone. His attention diverted back to her and Caroline watched as he reciprocated her smile, noting the softness that seemed to overtake his features as he looked at her. "Still up for that show or do you think it might be a bit too much of a bore now?"

"I have a feeling that pretty much everything that's on my list would be boring if we asked your brother." And she meant to cross out every single item on her list by the end of the cruise. "Though, I do recall you saying that the shows here only have a job because they couldn't hack it elsewhere."

"I did not say hack," Klaus pointed out as their plates were cleared away.

Caroline waved her hand. "I was paraphrasing."

"I think that your presence will make them infinitely more interesting," he told her, and did he _have _to say it with that accent and with that damn look that had her stomach twisting in really delightful knots? That couldn't be legal. "You've already shown me that standing around on the deck as we left the port was far more entertaining than I remembered it being."

"I am going to do it _every time_." Or at least that was her plan. Seeing the humongous boat cast off, feeling the energy of everyone around them had only furthered her excitement for everything. It had been nice to have Klaus there to bounce that off of, even if he hadn't been as enthused as she had been.

"You'll find that it's not as a big of a deal after the first one," Klaus told her before wincing at his own words. "And I'm sure you'll have discovered far too many other activities to occupy your time by then." She could already think of a few that involved the bed in her room and the British man across from her.

From the intensity of his gaze Caroline had a feeling that Klaus was having that same train of thought.

"I am way too smart to be seduced by you." It was a total lie, but it was one she had kept repeating to herself as they'd spent time that day. It'd been easy enough at that initial meeting with how arrogant he'd been but the last few hours had been the most fun she'd had in a long time. But she wasn't that girl who would just fall into bed with someone who called her pretty.

Not after the mess that was Damon Salvatore.

Even if Bonnie's words about a Mr. Right Now were ringing in her head.

There would be no Mr. Right Now on the very first day. She needed to give herself at least three days. Or so she kept telling herself. It was really hard to adhere to with that accent constantly being directed her way.

"Well, maybe that's why I like you," Klaus told her, and she was thankful she wasn't standing because that smirk coupled with that heated look would have caused her knees to buckle.

Caroline rolled her eyes and set down her glass. "Uh huh, let's go, Romeo. I wanna get some cake before we head over to the theater."

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

The opulence of the Mikaelson estate seemed to be on overload as Klaus made his way out to the back of it. The greenery was overtaken by white tents offering shade to the countless people whose names he knew and wanted nothing to do with. It was another charity function, or at least something that passed as such in the circle of the English elite. Every single person attending could brag about being in line for the throne of England, carrying more titles and owning more land than those running around with the serving trays could ever hope to accomplish.

It was a maddening display to watch and if he'd been in business mode maybe he could have tolerated it. There were various business acquaintances throughout the crowd, some clients he'd gotten off of various crimes in those first few years he'd practiced law, but they were being attended to by Elijah. Klaus had no intention of heading anywhere near that group.

He headed to the silent auction that was set up under one tent and scribbled his name under one of the pieces, not really caring which it was before moving along to hand over a check to the one in charge of collecting those. A quick glance to the left and he spotted Rebekah who waved excitedly at him before being tugged off to the dance floor with her current suitor.

Good.

He'd done his part now, shown his face, handed over the required money and wanted nothing more than to leave them all to the ridiculous show.

It was one thing when Lizzie was with him. He was able to divert his attentions to her, letting her drag him around the dance floor before venturing over to eat more sweets than any little girl should. There was no need for a fake smile then, something Klaus didn't like pulling out unless it benefited him in some way. Without her presence though the parties were a constant reminder of why he'd left the family home with her when she was two and rarely came around except for the holidays and these required events.

Her first nursery was still in the far right corner of the manor, tucked in next to his old quarters. Though it had been altered to a room more befitting a ten year old girl for her overnight stays that happened every so often. He couldn't stand the room. How everything had been cut from two to one, all of the baby pictures from those first few months framed in ways to hide that there had been another.

Klaus tore his gaze away from the windows and headed back the way he'd come, intent on slipping out unnoticed. "Niklaus," his mother's voice rang out behind him and he knew there would be no leaving just yet.

He turned around, noting her disapproving look mixed with concern. "Mother." He stepped forward and kissed her cheek, frowning when she linked his arm with hers, a sure sign that she wasn't letting him go anywhere.

Esther Mikaelson was a formidable woman, beautiful as well, but it was the strength she seemed to carry, the influence she could hold that people always remembered her by, her children included. "You only just arrived," she chided him as the two of them stood, looking out at everyone else who was enjoying themselves.

"I donated. I saw Rebekah and Elijah." What more could possibly be needed.

"Did you speak to them?" she asked and he didn't respond to that. What was the point? He saw his brother every day at the office and Rebekah was the reason he was there in the first place. "We have barely seen you all summer and with Lizzie gone for the duration of it I would think that would mean you would be around more often."

"Summer has only begun." His daughter hadn't even been gone two weeks yet. "I've been busy with work." Not a lie either.

"Elijah is busy as well and he still makes time to come and see me once a week," Esther pointed out, nodding over to where the son in question was talking up a client.

"That would be because Elijah has no life. Aside from work all he has is visiting you," Klaus remarked, wanting the conversation to end. He also realized that as soon as he'd opened his mouth that he'd left the door open for his mother's favorite conversation.

"And what about you? I don't hear about any woman in your life occupying your time," Esther replied, and Klaus glanced over at her. "I do not want to hear that excuse about how Lizzie is the woman in your life."

Klaus pulled away from her then. "I fail to see how my devotion to my daughter and her happiness is an issue, mother."

"What about your happiness, Niklaus?" The softness to her voice almost belied her intentions but he watched as she glanced to the side. A quick following of her gaze and he spotted a young woman sitting off to the side who smiled brightly at the two of them.

"Mother." He now knew what this was, the reason she'd desperately wanted him to attend this gathering.

"Her name is—"

"I do not care what her name is," Klaus snapped, and Esther narrowed her eyes. Everyone said he got his temper from Mikael but Klaus had a feeling it was actually from the woman in front of him.

"Why do you constantly do this? She is from a good family. Went to all the right schools, is in all of the correct circles," Esther continued, and he shook his head at that. "You're not a young man any longer, Niklaus. There are expectations, requirements, and one of them is having a family."

"I have a family."

"You have a daughter." Esther sighed. "What about a wife, a mother for that child of yours, siblings for that little girl."

"She has a mother." He'd had a wife. He had another daughter, Lizzie had a sister. "I already listened to Rebekah's ridiculous prattling about this and I should have known that she got it from you. Stop trying to set me up, mother."

"Mikael may not have been your birth father but I swear you got your stubbornness from him," she replied and he narrowed his eyes at that, unable to believe she'd brought up that man's name. "Just meet her. You might even like her if you give her a chance."

"I'll give her as much of a chance as you gave Caroline when you first met her," he replied, pleased that she flinched at that.

Klaus walked away, ignoring her calls after him. He knew it would only cause more conversations between the two of them later on but he couldn't stand continuing it then and there. He was nearly in the clear when Kol popped into his path.

"What has you running out of here like a 'bat out of hell'," his younger brother asked, entirely too cheerful for the mood Klaus was in.

"Mother being her usual self," Klaus bit out, continuing on, wanting nothing more than to get to his car.

Kol's demeanor seemed to shift at that, a scowl replacing his smirk. "Matchmaking again?" He glanced back toward where the party was still happening. "Maybe if she'd actually given…" He shook his head, stopping whatever he was about to say before hurrying up to keep up with Klaus.

"Come on, you look like you could use a drink and I know just the place to go," Kol told him, and Klaus nearly said no, nearly headed home to drown himself in painting all over again. But it had been a few weeks since he'd seen Kol and with Lizzie at camp he didn't have to worry about her finding him hung-over in the morning.

"I'll even let you buy," Kol added with a cheeky little grin, jumping out of the way as Klaus moved to smack him.

Getting drunk with his little brother seemed far preferable to wallowing in his mother's words for the evening.

* * *

><p>"My father is going to hear about this!" Lizzie told the woman as her suitcases were dropped onto the new bed. She crossed her arms, glaring as the Head Counselor entered along with Charlotte.<p>

She didn't understand these Americans at all. _How_ could forcing her to share a cabin with the girl who was causing all of the trouble be a good idea? Weren't the adults supposed to be the smart ones? Didn't they see that putting the two of them together would simply cause more problems?

"You've simply been made to change rooms. You'll still be attending all meals and all activities, only it will be under my supervision and it will be with one another until you learn how to respect one another," Ms. Pierce told the two of them, her tone allowing for no discussion. "I will not allow the two of you to destroy all of the hard work we've put into this place because you can't be civil to one another."

The last of the luggage was dropped off and the woman looked between the two girls. "You're free to call your parents, to let them know of these changes and the reasons why. If they would like they can come and get you so that you can enjoy the rest of your summer at home."

Lizzie sat down on the bed, frowning at the words. Her father would not like to hear that she wasn't able to get along with someone else. He probably would also have a hard time believing that considering how well she usually got along with others. He was in the middle of a big case as well and the last thing she wanted to do was have him fly all the way to come and retrieve her. Then she would need to endure her aunt's shopping trips and her grandmother's lessons on being a proper lady.

Charlotte seemed to deflate at the words as well, though she kept scowling as she looked over at the Head Counselor of the camp. "Unpack and I expect the both of you at the cafeteria for dinner," Ms. Pierce told them before heading out.

"This is all _your fault_," Charlotte told her as she flung open one suitcase.

"_My fault_?" This girl had to have lost her mind.

"It was your racket that hit the lady!"

"So did yours!" Lizzie cried out in frustration before turning her back on the girl. It seemed that the silent treatment was in order. She'd have plenty of time to talk to others during activities. There would be no way they would be keeping every other girl at camp away while the two of them did activities. That was simply impractical. She only had to deal with Charlotte in the cabin and Lizzie meant to spend as little time as she could there.

Of course, fate was a fickle thing, and it started raining almost right after she finished that thought.

Squeals could be heard outside of the cabin as the other campers started running for shelter and Lizzie looked out the window as the rain fell, blotting out any light and only adding to her misery. Maybe shopping and lady lessons would be preferable to this.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Big thanks to Miranda for betaing this. And huge thanks to all of you for reading, reviewing, faving, etcing. I hope you like the new chapter. :)**

* * *

><p><em>Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without.<em>_ -__**James Dobson**_

* * *

><p><strong>June 2004<strong>

_Three days_.

How was it possible to randomly meet someone three days ago and suddenly want to spend every damn moment with them? Caroline was pretty sure that it had to be something the cruise line was pumping in with the air conditioning at first. It was the only explanation for how she had despised Klaus so much at first, wanted to never lay eyes on him again, to somehow looking forward to spending every moment with him. There were very few that they weren't together, mostly at night when she finally stumbled to sleep in her own bed, and Caroline had a feeling that might be coming to an end soon.

Or at least she _hoped_ that she wouldn't be sleeping alone soon. Of course they hadn't even kissed yet but a girl could dream.

Was this a delayed reaction to everything that had happened in her life? Was this some way of coping with losing her mother only a few months ago? All of the plans she had so carefully made were being thrown to the wayside and she was simply living, not following the routine that she had typed out before heading off to Europe on her own. And she wasn't going crazy over it.

_That_ was a huge accomplishment. Even when she had _tried_ to not stick to her regiments back home she had failed miserably, usually getting cranky at not carrying out what she had planned. But there was no crankiness, no annoyance with everyone and anyone that she came across. There was only blissful happiness and beauty as far as the eye could see.

"You seem entirely too serious to be taking in the beauty of this town, Caroline," Klaus murmured in her ear, breaking her train of thought. His arms looped around her waist and she grinned as he pressed a kiss to her tanned shoulder.

"Just wondering how in the world I got here." She pulled away from him and caught his hand, linking their fingers together as they continued on down the preserved medieval village they were walking through.

"By boat and then a lovely scenic car ride," Klaus quipped and she nudged him with her elbow.

"Ass." But he was squeezing her fingers and tugging her along down another pathway toward the trinket shop that he had been telling her about while driving to this destination before she could say much more.

"Do you think you can find something for your friend Bonnie's grandmother in here?" Klaus asked as they entered and finally let go of one another.

From the crystals and various wind chimes that were hanging about, Caroline had a feeling she would find something. "Grams is really into all that new age stuff. She's been trying to get Bonnie into it for years now but Bonnie just rolls her eyes at her for most things. She's only ever interested in the herbology parts of it."

It didn't take long to pick something out and purchase a small gift for the woman who had been a big help to her in the last year. Thankfully Klaus seemed to also have learned his lesson about trying to help pay for things. She had her own money and did not need him buying things for her.

They headed off out onto the street again, fingers entwined as they walked over the cobblestone and Caroline admired the architecture as Klaus told her bits about the history of it. "Have you been here before?" she asked after a while.

"Once with my family when I was younger," he replied and she saw a darkness in his eyes as a memory came back to him. She squeezed his hand, knowing it must have been an unpleasant one. "I found the shop through a bit of research."

"How many of you are there? It's really hard for me to fathom what it's like doing family vacations with a large family. Even when I did things with Bonnie she was an only child and Elena had Jeremy but like I'm guessing it's a bit different than you and your large one." Caroline stopped talking once she realized that she was rambling again.

Klaus was grinning at her though and she couldn't understand how he found her habit of doing that to be enjoyable. Most found it aggravating or funny, but he seemed to think it made her rather adorable. "I have five siblings. Finn, who is off doing his own thing, Elijah, who I've already mentioned to you. Kol, who you know." He sighed at that and she laughed. Kol was definitely interesting. "Rebekah, who is the only girl."

She counted over the number again in her head. "I thought you said that you have five siblings."

"I had another. Henrik." Klaus looked away then, but she could see how his gaze darkened, how his shoulders tensed at mentioning the boy's name. She wondered what had happened, obviously something had. "He died."

Caroline nodded, not wanting to press him about it. She knew how she felt when others did that to her about her mom, she wouldn't make Klaus feel that way too. She also knew how useless it was to say that she was 'sorry'. It didn't really make anyone feel better and so she squeezed Klaus' hand again, thankful that he looked down at her with a small smile. It wasn't anywhere near what his grin had been like before their conversation but it was something.

His free hand moved to her cheek, thumb gently brushing against her skin there, and Caroline swallowed at that, knowing what was most likely to happen next. It wasn't like she hadn't ever been kissed before, not like she hadn't ever initiated her own fair share of them, but she'd had her share of horrible kisses in her life, and she did not know what she was going to do if Klaus turned out to be a terrible kisser.

His lips pressed softly against hers, barely even touching hers at first. Her eyes fluttered shut at the contact, free hand moving to grip his shirt as the kiss deepened. She let go of his hand, moving that arm to curl around the back of his neck as he pulled her closer to him. The gentleness was gone, their lips gliding together almost urgently now before he gently bit down on her bottom lip, causing her to moan.

Caroline looked at him then, her breathing heavy and was amazed by how dark his eyes seemed to have gotten in those moments, the desire she saw in them causing her to swallow hard. She didn't give herself time to ponder over any of her thoughts as she surged forward, needing to kiss him again. Tongue, teeth and lips all seeking and giving attention as she tried to pull him closer, as she felt Klaus's hands tangle in her hair as his tongue brushed against hers.

The sudden clapping had her quickly stepping away from him, trying to catch her breath as she looked to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. If looks could kill Kol Mikaelson would be dead twice over. "Oh please, don't stop on my account," Kol told them before ducking away down an alley.

Klaus turned toward her, the furiousness in his gaze melting to apologetic, and she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Your brother is an ass," Caroline murmured, letting her lips linger against his skin.

Klaus snorted in agreement and she giggled, letting him start to pull her along in the opposite direction. "I know the perfect place to be for when the sun starts to set."

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

Stephen had known that something was wrong with Caroline ever since dinner the other night. The usually vivacious woman had been quiet, barely keeping the conversation going, and he had only ever seen her like this a few other times in her life. Right after her parent's divorce, when her mother had been diagnosed, and when she left England and her marriage behind. She had bounced back quickly enough from the divorce once she realized that she wasn't losing her father. Liz's death had been harder for her and Stephen had thought that Klaus was a good thing, bringing back that smile that he had sorely missed seeing, but her devastation on having her own divorce finalized, on getting onto that plane with only one daughter and leaving the other behind had been something he didn't think had ever truly left her.

She had fought through her own depression for the sake of Charlotte and had built a wonderful life for the two of them but it was easy to see the ache she still felt if one knew where to look for it, the slight bulge of the wedding ring hanging from the chain under the shirt she was wearing being one of them. This lack of conversation didn't quite add up to the other times he had experienced it, but it was a sign that something was troubling her.

"You going to tell me what's going in that head of yours, Peanut, because we both know I failed at developing telepathy, no matter how hard I wished for it," Stephen told her as she set the salad bowl down on the table. He got a glimpse of a smile from her before she sighed again.

"Maybe I just really wanted to spend some time with my favorite step dad," Caroline replied as she finally sat down.

"That trick worked when you were twelve, Care," Stephen arched a brow at her and she picked up the salad bowl, doling out some onto her plate as she tried to stall for time. He was just as stubborn as she was though and would wait her out patiently.

She poked at the lettuce and even managed to spear a tomato before setting her fork down and turning her attention to Stephen. "Tyler asked me to marry him."

"Right." Stephen rose. "I'll get us something stronger than this wine." It wasn't exactly surprising that the guy had done so. The two of them had been seeing one another for a number of months now and Tyler was from a prominent Californian family. Caroline was the owner of a renowned business and heir to the Forbes' fortune. No doubt Tyler and his family thought that it was a perfect match.

"Scotch. I really need scotch." Caroline moved from the table to get them a set of glasses and grabbed a carton of ice cream and spoons before heading back to the table.

Stephen met her there and opened the bottle of scotch, pouring the two of them a glass. "He's a good guy," Caroline started and Stephen nodded at that. From what he'd seen of the Lockwood boy he couldn't dispute that. "He hasn't met Charlotte yet though and that needs to happen before I can ever say yes." Stephen nodded again, knowing better than to try and interrupt when Caroline was getting her thoughts out. "I have fun when I'm with him. I like the functions that we go to together."

"But?" Stephen knew there had to be one.

"There isn't one," Caroline told him and he arched a brow at that. "Like…none that make sense. Aside from meeting Charlotte. And that one I'm holding to that needing to happen before I ever can give an answer."

"What are the others?" Stephen asked, topping off her glass as she turned her attention to the carton of ice cream.

"There's no spark. There's no…" She shrugged, unable to put it into words. "But maybe there's not supposed to be. I went that way once and look what happened? It didn't exactly end in happily ever after."

"Happily ever after takes work, Caroline. You know that. You've seen me and your father work at our marriage over the years," Stephen pointed out and she nodded. "But we have that spark. I know he's who I want to fall asleep with every night and wake up next to every morning."

"Maybe I could eventually get like that with Tyler," Caroline murmured, tapping the spoon against her lips.

"It's hard to think of marrying someone when your heart still longs for another." Stephen knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear but it was the truth.

"That ship sailed long ago, Stephen." Caroline shook her head, but he watched as her fingers brushed at the ring underneath her shirt before she caught herself doing so. "I just haven't _allowed _myself to give any guy an actual chance. I keep thinking that it'll end in heartbreak like that one did. Tyler _wants_ to marry me. _His family _accepts me, they want me. It won't…it won't be like the first time."

Stephen simply nodded again. "But it all depends on Charlotte when she gets back. I'll finally let them meet, let the two of them interact. I haven't let anyone…" Caroline sighed before digging back into the carton. "I think she'll like him. I mean…I want her to. I do like Tyler. And it would be good for her to have another stable presence in her life. I know she has all of you and Bonnie. I know she can go to any of you if she needs to but…" She was looking at the carton and not him, a sure sign that she was struggling with her thoughts and how to express them best. "She only had a dad in her life for about two months and I had mom for eighteen years and so it's not quite the same loss that I feel maybe or maybe its worse. But she asks about him, Stephen. I know she's asked all of you too. I want her to have a dad."

"Caroline," he started, reaching over to take her hand and give it a squeeze.

"Is it so bad to want that for her? I know it'll be an adjustment and that's why I don't want to rush in. It's why I've never rushed in on any relationship. But I think I need to finally take this chance. Let them meet and then go from there. If it doesn't work then I call things off with Tyler." Caroline was nodding as she spoke and Stephen had a feeling she was trying to convince herself of that more than anything. He knew Charlotte was a smart girl though. If she didn't like Tyler she would let her mother know.

"There is so much that goes along with becoming a step parent, Caroline," Stephen started. He had been in the same boat that Tyler would be when he had gotten together with Bill. "Tyler is going to need to realize that while you may love him that Charlotte is the number one priority in your life. That can be a lot for someone to handle. It can be a lot for a kid to handle. I'm sure you remember the resentment that you felt at first."

"I thought you were taking dad away," Caroline murmured, and he knew she was remembering that bumpy time in their lives. "This wouldn't have the added stress of a divorce though. And I loved my mom but I won't be throwing myself into work like she did which made the whole process a little harder. Charlotte and I will stick to our routines."

"Except you'll be adding him into your lives. That means routines will change. It means some of what she's known for the last few years will shift in ways she might not like at first. And that's not even getting into parenting styles," Stephen pointed out and he could tell it was starting to overwhelm her.

"Just take this a day at a time, Peanut. Have them meet and see how that works out before you start making any further plans in that head of yours. I know you're doing that. Probably color coding them in there too," Stephen told her, not quite sure how he felt about the situation.

She smiled at him though. Not quite as brightly as he'd seen her smile before but at least it was there again. Maybe becoming Mrs. Caroline Lockwood wouldn't be a bad thing for her. As long as it didn't shatter her like becoming Caroline Mikaelson had done Stephen supposed it would be counted as a win. Though…it was more changing from Mikaelson back to Forbes that seemed to have caused his daughter the most pain..

"Just remember that you do not need to rush into anything," Stephen added and it was Caroline's turn to nod.

"Believe me my rushing into marriage days are over," Caroline assured before pushing the carton of ice cream toward him. "Now eat so I don't feel so bad for skipping dinner and heading straight for dessert."

* * *

><p><em>Two days<em> of non-stop rain and from the weather reports it looked like it would continue to do so for another week. There were indoor activities to do but most of them were overcrowded or had gotten boring after the second day. Many of the other girls were staying in their cabins and playing board games or truth or dare or _anything_ that was even vaguely interesting.

Charlotte would have loved to have been back in her old cabin doing just that but she was sequestered to her new one with Lizzie. They could head out for meals and if they wanted to do the indoor activities but they needed to do the activities _together_ and that was just more of a headache than Charlotte wanted to deal with anymore.

Sitting in their cabin and flipping through magazines while sighing every so often seemed far more preferable. At least they couldn't hear everyone whispering about their similarities. The urge to tackle the next person who she overheard talking about it was strong but the last thing Charlotte wanted to happen was for her to get sent home. Her mom would be _so _disappointed and she really couldn't handle that look.

Silence had reigned in their cabin for the last hour aside from the flipping of pages but mail had been dropped off and Lizzie had received something. The girl was currently reading through the letter and Charlotte looked over, unable to stifle her curiosity. "Who's it from?"

"My Uncle Kol," Lizzie replied before scrunching her nose and looking suspiciously over the top of the paper at Charlotte. Her look softened when there wasn't a snappy retort about that. She almost turned back to reading the letter, to continue on with the silence but not talking was driving her _mad_. She had always been a chatter box and needed to talk. "He was apparently in Italy and _accidentally _made his friend fall into one of the fountains."

"Oh?" Charlotte sat up at that, wanting to know more.

"As my father likes to say Uncle Kol has never done anything accidentally in his life. He's simply a trickster." Lizzie grinned and placed the letter back in the envelope. "He always makes me laugh when I'm sad. The others don't like what he does a lot but he's there when you really need him."

"The others?" Charlotte swung her legs over the bed, her attention fully on Lizzie now.

"My grandmother, other uncles, my aunt. Not my father though. He agrees with me." Lizzie tucked the letter under her pillow for safekeeping.

"What about your mom?" Charlotte didn't expect Lizzie's smile to disappear so quickly with that question. "Oh. Is she dead? I'm sorry."

"No. She's not dead. She's just not with us anymore. I don't know where she is." Lizzie stared at her hands, not really wanting to say any more about it.

"I don't know where my dad is. He's not dead either. But he's never been around," Charlotte told her, and stared off at the wall, not quite sure why she was opening up about that. "I've tried asking my mom about it but she gets _really sad _so I stopped."

"My father gets that way whenever I ask about my mum," Lizzie replied, and Charlotte nodded, still not looking over at her. "Uncle Kol says it will all make sense in time and I don't ask the others. They never have anything nice to say and daddy yells at them."

"I tried my aunt Bonnie once but she clammed up real quickly and my grandpas weren't any help either." Charlotte shrugged. It was all a big mystery and one day she would figure it out.

"I thought that maybe it was because she didn't love me. That maybe that's why she left," Lizzie continued and Charlotte looked over at her then. She had thought the same thing about her father. "But no, he always says she loves me very much."

"That's what my mom says about my dad too," Charlotte murmured. It was hard to wrap her head around that though. If he loved her so much then why didn't she ever see him or even know his name?

There was a large crack of thunder that caused the both of them to jump a little. Lizzie moved over to the window and peered out of it. "It's really coming down now." The clatter of the drops on the roof increased and Charlotte dropped back down onto the bed.

"_Ugh_." At least she wasn't frightened of storms like she had been when she was little. That would have sucked.

"What's your favorite color?" Lizzie asked after a few minutes of silence. Charlotte looked over at her, arching a brow and wondering if the girl was serious. "If you'd like to go back to flipping through the same magazine for the millionth time be my guest." Lizzie flopped back against her own bed and crossed her arms against her chest.

"Lime green," Charlotte eventually spoke up. "What about you?"

"Turquoise. Much to my grandma and aunt's chagrin. They wish I adored pink." Lizzie rolled her eyes at that and Charlotte laughed.

"My mom doesn't care but she wouldn't let me paint my whole room lime green. Only one wall because she said it's too loud of a color." Charlotte grinned, remembering the long debate they'd had a year ago when it was time to get rid of the ponies that had decorated her walls.

"I was only allowed to paint one wall turquoise too," Lizzie shook her head. "Not because turquoise was too loud but because my father thought an accent wall was enough color considering how much color the furniture in my room brought to it." She figured that had to do with his artistic tendencies. He had been right in his assessment though. If they had added turquoise to every wall it would have drowned out her room.

"Parents are weird," Charlotte murmured and Lizzie nodded in agreement.

"I've got cards. Do you want to play a game?" Lizzie asked after another moment.

Charlotte shot up at that, unable to wipe the sly grin off her face. "Do you know how to play poker?"

"My Uncle Kol taught me," Lizzie dug out the set of cards from her bag on the floor. From the look on Charlotte's face Lizzie had a feeling that she might actually be going up against a worthy opponent. At least the day had finally started to get interesting.

* * *

><p><strong>November 2008<strong>

Of all the airports in the world that Kol Mikaelson had traveled, Chicago-O'Hare was his least favorite. It was his fault for having a layover at it during the winter months. He swore the place shut down more than any other when the snow hit the ground. Whenever the damn delayed sign flashed by his flight it caused him to rethink his life choices and wonder what exactly had brought him to _this_ airport when every news station was spouting off predictions of a huge storm passing through.

The redheaded model was definitely _not_ worth this trouble. By the time he even arrived in New York he would probably be well over her and any desire to get her into his bed again. No doubt Nik would get a laugh out of it all while Bekah and Elijah would shake their heads in disappointment if he even bothered to tell them.

"Bloody damn airport shouldn't be a stop if it never works," he muttered under his breath as he tried to locate a bar to spend the next few hours in.

"Kol?"

He hadn't expected to ever hear that voice again and from the confused, almost startled way his name had been said, Kol had a feeling that Caroline had never expected to see him again. Turning he saw the blonde standing a few feet away, suitcase with those fancy rollers at her side.

"Good to see you, darling," he greeted, unable to help from smiling at the sight of her. He watched as she visibly relaxed, the worry that had been etched in her eyes disappearing as he stepped forward to hug her and kiss her cheeks.

She shoved him back lightly at that, rolling her eyes in a way that instantly reminded him of three-year old Lizzie back in London. "What are you even doing here?"

Kol arched a brow at that, waving his arm around the airport before laughing at her pointed look. He had missed that look. "On my way to New York from Seattle. You?"

"On my way…home." That slight hesitation in her voice had him biting the inside of his cheek, not wanting to cause a scene on how her _home_ was in London. "How are things?"

"Things?" Kol shifted on the balls of his feet, mulling over that word.

"Him. How is he?" Caroline tried again and Kol pursed his lips together, acting as if he still wasn't quite sure who she was inquiring about. "Klaus, Kol. How is he? And." He couldn't help but take pity on her at how her breath caught on Lizzie's name, at the inkling of tears in her eyes at her daughter's name.

"She's a little hellion, that one," Kol grinned, and pulled his phone out of his coat pocket, scrolling to show off one of Elizabeth in her Halloween costume. "She demanded to be a butterfly."

Caroline took the phone from him and he watched her touch the screen before brushing tears from her face. "Charlotte wanted to be a pirate." She handed him her phone and he looked down at the picture of his other niece, the one he hadn't been able to hold in entirely too long.

"Is he good though? Is he happy?" Caroline asked as Kol handed back the phone.

No, his brother was far from happy, far from whole. The only time he smiled was around his daughter but there was still an emptiness that seemed to surround him at times. He could see it with Caroline as well. "About as happy as you are," Kol replied, watching as she looked away at that.

An announcement for a departing plane came over the speakers and Caroline put her phone away. "That's me."

"Caroline. I'm sorry that…" Kol trailed off, not quite sure how to word it all; he just needed her to know that he wished things had turned out differently.

"I know." And then she was gone in the crowd.

Kol sighed, watching the space where she had been for a long moment before turning around and heading for the bar. He really needed that drink.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

Having Kol stay with him was always a double edged sword. On one hand, it annoyed their mother to no end, especially when Kol did everything in his power to not show up at the family estate during his visit. On the other though, it meant that Klaus had to endure Kol for however long he was in town. It usually never surpassed a week at a time. His youngest surviving brother had no patience for staying put in one place for too long. How any of them had thought that trying to get him to follow in the family path would end well was beyond Klaus.

Kol might have successfully completed his undergraduate degree but he had refused to play along after doing that much. Thankfully, Kol had been lucky in investing his inheritance from the trust into a friend's start up internet company that was still flourishing to that day. Klaus never understood what exactly it did but as long as it kept his brother out of financial trouble he didn't particularly care to find out. Kol got into enough other trouble as it was.

Usually Lizzie acted as a perfect buffer between the two of them because by day two of Kol's constant presence Klaus was ready to strangle him. But Lizzie adored her Uncle and while Kol could be wild, he was always conscious of his niece's safety. Though bedtime was never a routine that was adhered to when he was in town but a few late nights seemed like a decent sacrifice for how large his daughter's smile could get while playing board games with her Uncle Kol.

_Unfortunately_ Lizzie was not there to act as a buffer this time.

It definitely didn't help to arrive home after a particularly grueling day of work to find Kol on the couch with Klaus' latest painting of Caroline's eyes on the coffee table in front of him. No one was allowed in the attic where he painted. Even Lizzie knew better than to step foot into that domain, always knocking if she needed something.

Kol was never one for rules, never one for sticking to anyone's boundaries and usually Klaus could let it slide, but seeing that piece of his soul displayed so carelessly on the table was something he couldn't contain his anger from.

"What the hell are you doing?" Klaus demanded, briefcase already discarded in a chair as he entered the room and quickly snapped up the painting.

"I think you didn't quite capture the color of her eyes, Nik," Kol waved at the painting, the jab only furthering his brother's rage.

"You have no right to go up there, Kol," Klaus bit out, spotting the empty bottle of scotch that lay haphazardly on the floor. It had been halfway full when he'd left his brother in the morning. "No matter how wasted you've gotten yourself."

Klaus turned to head up the stairs and place the painting back in its spot. Maybe he needed to start locking the door again. He stopped when Lizzie was old enough to walk up and down the stairs, afraid she might end up hurting herself somehow because of the locked door. If it was locked then the temptation to go inside would grow or at least that's what he told himself.

"I saw her once," Kol started and Klaus stopped dead in his tracks, hopeful that Kol was spouting nonsense. "Caroline. I saw her."

He needed to keep moving, to ignore whatever confessions were coming from his drunken brother. "She looked about as happy as you ever do when Lizzie isn't with you."

Klaus' hands tightened around the painting, willing his feet to keep moving. The thought of Caroline unhappy shouldn't stir a longing in him, a need to fulfill that happiness that had eluded him ever since she'd left.

"Why didn't you ever try to find her? To find them?" Kol continued and the canvas ripped a little under Klaus' grip. "I doubt it would have been hard."

"She wouldn't have left if she wanted me to find them, Kol." She would have stayed and talked things through with him. They could have made it work somehow, he was certain of it.

"You're an idiot, Nik. All she wanted was you to do that," Kol muttered, and Klaus turned back at that, but Kol was already snoring. It would be useless to try and figure out what his brother had meant by that and what was the point? Ten years had passed since he had seen Caroline; no doubt she was happy now. With the love for life that she had Klaus couldn't comprehend her not moving on and living again.

Klaus placed the painting down and took one of the extra blankets out of the linen closet. He threw it haphazardly over his brother before picking up the empty bottle and disposing of it. Then he headed up to the attic and placed the painting back in its spot. Her eyes were perfect, regardless of what Kol had said, though they lacked that spark of life that Caroline's always seemed to have.

He pulled out the crinkled photograph of the two of them with the girls from his jacket pocket, something he always carried around with him, and stared down at it, taking in the look in Caroline's eyes. Just like her smile, her eyes weren't as bright as when he'd first met her.

Klaus folded the photograph up again and headed back downstairs to his room, tucking it into the drawer of his bedside table for safe keeping. He could hear Kol's snores as he headed over to Lizzie's room and glanced inside, missing her presence. Klaus knew camp would be good for her but that didn't stop him from wishing she was spending the summer with him. Even if it was better for her to be away with how much time he needed to put into work because of his latest client.

His cell rang in his pocket and Klaus sighed before pulling it out. It was his mother calling and he glared at the screen before hitting the button to silence the ringing. He was in no mood to deal with whatever she wanted. Perhaps Kol had the right idea in drinking the night away.

* * *

><p>This couldn't really be happening.<p>

Things like this only happened in the movies or on television but not in real life. People didn't go away to summer camp and then find their long lost twin sister. This wasn't Disney.

But it was happening and Charlotte couldn't help but stare at the picture of her mother that Lizzie held just like the other girl was staring at the picture that she held in her hands. "We're sisters," Lizzie breathed out, and Charlotte felt as amazed as the other girl sounded.

"_Twins_." Identical ones which explained _so much_ even if the both of them had been steadfastly denying their similar features.

They placed the pieces of the photograph down on the ground and slid them together. Charlotte wasn't sure if she clasped Lizzie's hand first or if the other girl had done it, but they sat on the floor with their hands tightly holding onto one another as they stared down at the picture that was now whole.

They sat like that for a long time, neither saying a word as they tried to comprehend everything they had just discovered. "Is mother happy?" Lizzie asked after a moment, and Charlotte looked over at her and nodded.

"Usually. She gets these really sad looks sometimes though." Charlotte had a feeling that she was thinking about Lizzie during those moments and maybe their dad. "What about dad?"

"The same really. Grandmother wants to set him up with someone. Her and my Aunt Bekah tries to constantly but he never has time for any girls aside from me," Lizzie told her as she looked back at the photograph.

"My…our mom is seeing some guy but it's not serious. She's never introduced him to me. That's when I'll know it's serious. Aunt Bonnie says it's because she won't let go of the past," Charlotte shook her head, practically hearing her aunt's voice in her head as she said that.

"That's what Uncle Kol says about daddy," Lizzie replied and it was weird to see the same determined look that Charlotte usually saw in the mirror when she looked at the girl. "He also told me once that daddy misses our mother."

"That's what Grandpa Stephen told me once too" Charlotte nodded, remembering the one thing she had dreamed about since she was little. From the way Lizzie was nodding along too, she had a feeling that Lizzie was having the same idea. "Have you always wanted to meet her? Mom?"

"For as long as I can remember," Lizzie murmured. "And you've always wanted to meet our father?"

Charlotte nodded. More than anything she wanted that to happen. "We could call them up and tell them we've met," Lizzie suggested, but Charlotte shook her head.

"They could just separate us again and we'd miss out on our chance," Charlotte pointed out and Lizzie sighed. That was a definite possibility.

"There's four more weeks of camp," Lizzie started. "I think in that amount of time you could teach me everything I need to know to be you and you could teach me what I need to know to be you."

"And what? We'll just switch at the end of camp?" Charlotte asked, wrapping her head around the idea. "You're brilliant!"

"I know," Lizzie replied with a grin. "Then you'll get to me father and I can meet mother."

"And even better, they'll have to meet again to switch us back," Charlotte pointed out and Lizzie's grin broadened.

"And if our uncle and grandfather are right then maybe they won't be sad any longer," Lizzie replied and Charlotte grinned at her.

It was an amazing idea. How could it possibly go wrong?


End file.
